Time to stop and reflect is one of the hardest disciplines for a follower of Jesus.  Jesus often went out to be on His own in prayer.  It is that undivided time and focus that creates space for genuine reflection on Father God, to hear from the Lord and know Him.  The Psalmist said:

'Be still and know that I am God'  Ps 46:10  The beauty of what the Psalmist writes is that being still before God comes with a promise - that we can really know that God is God....

But something about our culture and the access to entertainment like media and TV makes stopping so hard.  Not only do we need to work long hours, but more than ever, we desire leisure time and over the last 40 years, western culture has increased its actual leisure time by 20%.  But our demand for free time grows, and is higher than it has ever been.  This tells us that while there is nothing wrong with leisure time, it is a thirst that cannot be quenched.

That brings us to our Sunday Series on the art of reflection.  The art of reflection seems hard but it could not be simpler. 

The importance of art of not so much formulas or rules or how to's, but purpose and creativity and thought and reflection - and that means stopping.

Create time and space in your life to improve your art of reflection - and experience again what it means to be still and know that God is God.

Download the Series Booklet Here

On Sunday 4 February, our Church will be having a sharing service, so please come prepared with some of your reflections to encourage and share with the Church.

As a church community, we support SMG's 'Thumbs Up' campaign to show support for School Chaplaincy.  The awareness raised by the campaign will help provide support for continued School Chaplaincy funding from 2019 in the upcoming May 2018 federal budget, and possible future co-investment funding from state budgets. We support the great work of SMG and we want to help play our part in promoting awareness of the positive impact and need for SMG School Chaplaincy Services in South Australia.
A great infographic of the work School Chaplaincy does can be found here.

You can also write a letter or send an email expressing your support.  This template may be helpful to you.

The below information will help you to

Hear more and follow SMG

• Follow SMG on Facebook
• Visit SMG's website

Key MP Contact details (in order of priority):

• The Hon Simon Birmingham MP, Federal Education Minister, Parliament House, CANBERRA ACT 2600 Twitter: @Birmo Facebook: @simonbirmingham
• The Hon Scott Morrison MP, Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia, PO Box 6022, House of Representatives, Parliament House, CANBERRA ACT 2600   Twitter: @ScottMorrisonMP Facebook: @scottmorrison4cook Instagram: @scottmorrisonmp
• The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, Prime Minister, Parliament House, CANBERRA ACT 2600  Twitter: @TurnbullMalcolm Facebook: @malcolmturnbull  Instagram: @TurnbullMalcolm

His name will be the HOPE of the world’ is the theme for our Christmas Series this December.  Together, we will explore the need, the vessels and the faithfulness of Hope, as we reflect on the incarnation of the Son of God.

• 3 Dec               Need for Hope
• 10 Dec             Vessels of Hope
• 17 Dec             Faithfulness of Hope
• 23 Dec             Come Celebrate Christmas (6.30-8.00pm)
• 24 Dec             No Service
• 25 Dec             Christmas Day Service (9.30-10.30am)

The name of Jesus reflects who Jesus is, and what He has done.  Whatever you and your neighbours are facing in the world, there is Hope in the name of Jesus.  Let Christmas be a season of Hope, for all things and for all people.

Faithfulness is our theme for November.  Faithfulness is a large word with significant implication for attitude, thinking and lifestyle.  We all want to be known as faithful.  So each week, we will look at four distinct expressions of faithfulness in our lives.

Faithfulness is the quality of being faithful to someone or something. 

1. Being faithful with the mission and gifts and talents God has give us
2. Not just the easy stuff, but being faithful even as we experience pain and suffering
3. Remembering that faithfulness inspires others, and the role that faithfulness plays in being an inspiration to children
4. Success if a great feeling in every circumstance, but how can we be faithful with success we experience

Psalm 138 says 'I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.'

The faithfulness of God can be defined as His "determined loyalty to a gracious covenant." 

In the bible, "Faithfulness" is frequently joined to "steadfast love" or "unfailing love".  Faithfulness is also expanded and linked to:

• saving help
• miracles and wonders
• uprightness
• just and righteous and righteousness

Faithfulness is a character quality of Father God - it cannot be removed from Father God (Deut 7:9; 32:4; Ex 34:6; Ps 31:5; Isa 49:7) Because God Himself is faithful, all His works faithful (and just, Ps 111:7).  His works are done in faithfulness (Ps 33:4); His judgments have been appointed in faithfulness (Ps 119:138); His paths are faithfulness (Ps 25:10). The psalmist can even discern that afflictions are given in faithfulness (Ps 119:75). God gives men their recompense faithfully (Isa 61:8); His plans are faithful (Ps 25:1).

Psalm 89 begins with praise for God's steadfast love and faithfulness, where faithfulness is both carrying and caring, both strength and love. The psalmist recalls God's covenant with David and the faithfulness and steadfast love.

Similarly, Hezekiah's song includes both an appeal for health on the basis of God's faithfulness (Isa 38:18) and praise and witness to His faithfulness: "the father makes known to the children thy faithfulness" (v. 19).

The faithfulness of God is powerfully and finally confirmed in Jesus Christ. "God is faithful," Paul says, "by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor 1:9).  God has fully shown His caring and His carrying, His love and His strength, in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 1:18).  Paul is confident that God will sustain the community of believers even in temptation (1 Cor 10:13; 1 Thess 5:24; 2 Thess 3:3; Heb 10:23; Heb 11:11).

Peter says in 1 Peter 4:19 that the Creator who is called faithful expresses revelation of God's covenant faithfulness in Jesus Christ. The one God who made heaven and earth can be entrusted with our souls because He has the strength and the love to carry and to care. Because God is faithful and just, because He is loyal to His gracious covenant, He forgives our sins if we confess them (1 John 1:9).  It should be observed that many times in the New Testament "truth" is to be understood against the background of "faithfulness."

November is all about Faithfulness - faithfulness in mission, pain, inspiration and success!

Words of Encouragement and Prophecy remind us that the Lord desires to speak with us.....today.

You will find below a list of all the recorded sessions where words were given.  Please feel free to create your own audio file for your word using the below files. Over time, we will try to get this done for each person.  However there is also great teaching and encouragement to listening to the entire audio recording as Pr Rob provides instruction and background to how to hear from the Holy Spirit. These gifts are not just for 'pastors' to exercise, but for all believers to seek and use as we seek the Lord to encourage one another.

What to do next?

1. Take a moment to listen again to the word and write down some thoughts as you listen as what you think the Holy Spirit is saying to you.
2. Speak to someone you trust and share what you feel the Lord is saying to you, and ask them what they think.  Invite them to listen also to the Word given.
3. Begin taking steps to align yourself with the Holy Spirit and through steps of faith, give time for what was spoken to come to pass.

Listen to Pr Rob sharing about next steps here.

Sessions with Pr Rob & Pr Liz Bailey (recorded words - whole session)

• Tuesday Morning Prayer Group
• Tuesday Young Adults Small Group
• Wednesday Combined Small Group
• Friday Youth Gathering
• Saturday Night Gathering
• Sunday Service

Sunday's Message

• For Pr Rob's Sunday Service Sermon, please visit here.