As we worshipped this morning, the tangible presence of God descended and the opportunity was there for each person to have an encounter with God. We have been having some great times of corporate worship lately and it’s great to see the congregation enjoying the journey as we go deeper with God as a corporate body.

Julie then brought us an excellent communion message. Our God is a God who knows everything we do, cares about everything we do and who can’t take His eyes off us. Why? Because He loves us so much. Our God has the entire world, the entire galaxy, the entire universe in His hand and when you consider that, the fact that He loves us is totally amazing. As we go through life though, we all face tough times and sometimes we feel like we need to remind God that we do still exist.

Isaiah 54:10 tells us that though the mountains will be shaken and the hills removed, His unfailing love will not be shaken. In Ps 94:18 we are told that when our foot is slipping, God’s love will be there to support us. In Zephaniah 3:17, we are told that God rejoices over us with gladness and singing and that He quiets us with His love.
To appreciate fully His love though, we need to go deeper into God and get a fresh touch. Just like the lady with the flow of blood in Mark 6:28 who went deeper into the crowd to touch Jesus, we have to go deeper to touch Him. When Jesus died on the cross, He forgave all our sins and allowed us to come into the very throne room of God. The cross shows how much God loves us and as we remember that, we were encouraged to go deeper with God and get a fresh touch, or revelation, about how much He really does love us.

Tony then brought us a message from Jude. In Jude 1:3, Jude tells us to contend for the faith. We do this by building up our faith, which we do by reading the Word. As we do that, we need to challenge ourselves to share the gospel and pray for opportunities to do that.

Have a great week this week! Be a blessing to somebody. Go deeper with God, touch Him and get a greater revelation of His love for you!

Carol today gave us an excellent communion message. She reminded us that whatever is going on, God is in charge. He has the entire world in His hands and knows every detail of our lives.

Pauline then talked about Encounters of the God kind. In Acts 9:3-19, both Saul and Ananias had a God encounter. Peter and John prayed for the lame man and he walked. He had a God encounter. Zacchaeus the tax collector climbed the sycamore tree and met Jesus. Bartimeaus called out to Jesus to heal his blindness and he was healed.
All these God encounters were suddenlies.
If you don’t have God encounters, you become a stale christian. We need God encounters. Reach out to God for an encounter with Him. It will change your life. Embrace the change in your life that the Spirit is bringing.

Be a people who embrace the changes that God encounters bring. It can take us up to new levels of experiences if we don’t fight the change. Don’t miss out on a blessing, or God encounter because you are expecting it to be done in a different way.

Have a great week. Continue to go deeper with God and encounter Him. It could change your life!

After an excellent time of worship this morning, Alan brought us a challenging sermon from Luke 5:4-7.
Jesus told Peter to “go deeper”. When Jesus wants to do something in our lives, He tells us to go deeper into Him. In Ezekiel 47, Ezekiel wades in to the water which is up to his ankles, then knees and waist. Finally he is in so deep that he has nothing to hold onto. God wants us in the deep water where we have nothing to hold on to but Him. Peter had to go deeper and try again when he was fishing. But when Jesus tells him to do that, Peter is discouraged and tells Jesus that he has been trying all night and got nothing.
Sometimes we respond to God’s call to go deeper with discouragement, weariness, tiredness, exhaustion or disillusionment. In Gal 6:9 though, it tells us not to become weary in doing good.
When we have tried everything and it doesn’t work, maybe we need to go deeper in God.
Don’t let past failures stand in the way of future successes. Even though Peter’s response was discouragement, he still obeyed. Jesus wanted to show Peter something by getting him to go deeper. He wanted to do something miraculous in Peters life and needed him to go deeper.
Our only response to God should be to obey. If He tells us to go deeper, then we should. If we do the same thing, but from a different place, God will honour that because we have obeyed Him.

Go deeper and watch the miracle that God will do. Success in life is hearing God and obeying. Have a great week and go deeper with God!

Today, after a beautiful time of worship and sharing around communion, Alan made the following announcement to the church:
“Most of us are aware that over the last two or three years, this church has undergone significant change. We have certainly diminished in number, but, I believe that we have been in the process of transitioning into the church God wants us to be in the 21st century.
As Pastor of the church, I have endeavoured to lead the church into a greater awareness of the Kingdom of God and into an outwardly-focussed vision that is directed both towards God and towards the community in which God has placed us. From my perspective, I have seen that many of those who have embraced these principles have grown enormously. I believe that God has a great future for this church and that it sits on the brink of achieving some great things in the Kingdom.
It is within this framework that I have, over recent months, been prayerfully considering my personal direction and the role that God would have me play in his plans and purposes for the City of Bendigo and indeed on a wider scale.
When I originally accepted the role of Pastor of this church almost six years ago, our expectation was that I would remain in that role for many years, and certainly until retirement. However in reviewing our personal circumstances, I have come to the conclusion that the best interests of this church and the Kingdom of God will be served by my standing down as Pastor and seeking someone else to lead the church on into the future.
This is not a decision I have come to easily. In fact, those in whom I have confided over these months know that I have agonised over it and given it much thought and prayer. I have been most reluctant to reach this decision, for I love you all so dearly. I have a strong desire to see each one find the joy of fulfilling his or her life purpose under God and have seen some signs of doors opening into our community, which I find tremendously encouraging and exciting. But I do believe that this is what I must do at this time.
For me personally, this decision will lead to a move into new realms of ministry. I am not sure exactly how this is all going to play out, but I know that God has a plan for me and sense that this step is necessary for me to be released into a wider expression of my particular gifting and calling.
For the church, it will provide an opportunity for others to “step up to the plate”, take on more responsibility and grow. I am confident that within this church there are resources and talents ready to be released. I know you can do it.
I have discussed this decision with a committee made up of some key leaders and now intend to work with that committee to begin the process of locating a new Pastor for the church. In the meantime, I will continue to minister in the church while the initiation of this process takes place.
Some of you are aware that I have joined with John Steele and Ron MacFadzean in the development of a business here in Bendigo, with the purpose of releasing ministry into the Kingdom of God. I am, therefore, no longer employed by the church, but will continue to minister for the time being on a voluntary basis.
I would like to encourage you all to embrace this decision positively. Even though it may be difficult to see at the time, God always has a plan and his purposes will be fulfilled. I have confidence in you. This church has a good future and I am looking forward to seeing the fruit of the seeds that have been planted as time unfolds.
May God pour out his richest blessings on each one of you personally and on the church corporately as you move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. Please always remember that Jesus said, ‘I will build my church’.”
He then followed with a message of encouragement, where even though we often don’t understand what God is doing, it requires us to obey in faith. Hebrews 11:3 says “by faith we understand …”. Faith comes first, then understanding.
Expounding 1 Kings 17, Alan showed us how Elijah obeyed the word of the Lord and experienced the supernatural provision of being fed by ravens and drinking water from a brook during a time of drought, but how eventually the brook dried up.
Applied to our lives, it can mean that good things often come to an end, because God wants us to move up to a higher level. He does not want us remaining in our comfort zone.
Elijah had to grow to a higher level, where he moved from simply receiving the provision of God, to being one who worked miracles of provision, not only for himself but for others.
The story then culminates in the miracle of Elijah raising the widow’s son from the dead and the acknowledgement that “you are a man of God and the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth”. (1 Kings 17:24)
Speaking prophetically, Alan encouraged the church that this was a time of growth to a new level and that what was ahead was greater provision and an even greater release of the miraculous power of God that would show that God really is in the house. Even though we may not understand all that is happening, the church has a positive future under God.
The challenge for us all is to hear, obey and move up to the next level.
The day finished with a great time of fellowship around a sausage sizzle lunch.

Thas week Alan spoke on being not only community focussed, but also being God-focussed. He shared a message on coming into God’s presence.
Psalm 100:4 tells us that we enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, but we don’t want to remain in the outer courts, we want to come into the manifest presence of God, in the holy of holies.
1. Invitation
Using the story of Queen Esther as a model, Alan showed us that God has extended his royal sceptre (the symbol of his authority) towards us. The sceptre of his kingdom is righteousness (Hebrews 1:8). God has extended his righteousness to us, so we need not fear to be in his presence.
But further to this, we also need not fear because we have been invited into his presence, through the blood of Jesus. (Hebrews 10:19, Hebrews 4:16). This is positional truth. But we need to move beyond an intellectual understanding of the presence of God into a real-life experience of his presence.
2. Revelation
Then as we come to his presence, we gain a revelation of his glory. Alan expounded this theme from Isaiah 6:1-5, where Isaiah had his vision of the Lord on his throne. We also see the glory of God in the commissioning of Moses’ tabernacle and Solomon’s temple (Exodus 40:34, 2Chronicles 5:13-14, 2Chronicles 7:1-2). This is experiential truth.
3. Transformation
As we gain a revelation of the power and glory of God, we experience his transforming power. Isaiah experienced this, in Isaiah 6:6-8, where, having seen the glory of God and being aware of his own sinfulness, his sin was atoned for and he was transformed into a man willing to go for God and proclaim his message.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 shows us that the presence of the Holy Spirit will transform us from the inside, to be conformed to his image. This also is experiental truth.
The challenge for us is to accept God’s invitation, seek his presence, gain a revelation of him and submit to the transformation of our lives by his Spirit.