Great news - on Sunday - church will re-open our doors for the first time in over 3 months! If you feel safe and comfortable - we would love you to join us! If you'd prefer to wait - that's fine as well - please continue to join us on the livestream.
Read MoreLast week, I encouraged you, that as we come out of Lock Down, to set our minds on the things of God - not on the things of this earth. This week - I want to encourage us to grow in FAITH, not FEAR.
In Luke 12:4-7. Jesus warns us not to be afraid of the things that can kill the body - but to fear God. At the same time, he reminds us that God cares for us, and loves us. God knows the number of hairs on our head, and loves us enough to die on the cross for us.
We have a three step plan for returning to physical church.
Online Church (October)
Warm Up Church (November)
Together For Christmas (December)
There's many things we are thinking about at the moment. Going out again. Beaches. Visiting people and family. All great and wonderful things - gifts from God!
Read MoreIt's time to start preparing to come back to church. Our plan is simple, safe, and - above all - is glorifying God. We have three steps: Online Church (October), Warm Up Church (November), and Together For Christmas (December)
Read MoreOver the last few weeks, the staff and wardens have been working hard to come up with a plan for how we will return to church. On Tuesday night, the Warden's approved that plan.
On Sunday 10th October (THIS Sunday) at 12pm, we will have a church-wide meeting (including both Lighthouse and Morning Church) to share the plan, answer questions, and receive feedback.
This has been a tough year for Berala and the surrounding areas. There is nothing better we can do, nothing more powerful, nothing more effective - than calling on the powerful God in prayer. The powerful God who loves the people of Berala - and wants to help them.
So we've started a new campaign - to pray for the people of Berala (and surrounding areas). We've put up this sign at church, and we have 3,000 postcards to put in letterboxes to let people know we want to pray for them.
We've already had a number of prayer requests - and have already seen God answer the prayers!
Last week I spoke about vaccines. This is an important topic - and one that a lot of emotion is attached.
My question to you is this: How are you going to treat those who are unvaccinated? Especially a brother or sister in Christ who - for whatever reason - are reluctant to get vaccinated?
Lock down tip: Avoid Disaster Porn!
What is Disaster Porn? It's Doom Scrolling. It's being addicted to the news or the 11am press conference. It's becoming fixated on the negative things that surround us, talking about it at every opportunity.
Often - it feels good. It feels like we are in control. It feels like we have knowledge and understand the situation. But the reality is - it raises our stress levels. It drives anxiety. And it means we lose our focus on the rest that Jesus provides us.
Sunday was our last week in Paul's great letter to the Galatians Church. What have you learnt from it? What have you been encouraged by? What have you been challenged by? What have you been reminded of? How have you grown as a follower of Jesus?
Follow this link to hear how others in our church have grown.
This week we're going to be thinking more about what "Church" is - with our guest speaker Moussa. Read Ephesians 2:11-3:10 to prepare.