Pastoral Leaders RSS

Sunday May 13

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:09:55 GMT

On this Mothers' Day I do want to express a very warm welcome to all those who may be visiting with us. Mothers' Day provides a wonderful opportunity to again thank our Heavenly Father for those who brought us into the world and those who have nurtured and cared for us as we grew and developed. What a joy last Sunday to hear the kids from Watoto giving thanks for the mothers God had given to care for them. For those who have mums here today, we pray you will be filled with joy and thankfulness. For those whose mums can't be with us because they are in other places, including some whose mums are now with Christ, we pray that you too will be filled with gratitude to God.

It was great to hear of so many attending the ladies' breakfast yesterday. As I write, the number booked in was over 260. We are praying that the Lord would continue to move powerfully through the women's work in our church. Great things are also continuing to happen in the men's ministry. There's another fantastic opportunity for men to be strengthened in their faith next weekend at the BridgeMen Retreat. If you haven't yet registered men, make sure you do so today.

Commencing next Sunday, we are holding a special week of prayer leading into Pentecost Sunday called "Dwell among us." We will be asking the Lord to pour out more of His Holy Spirit on us as His people. On the Tuesday of that week we are setting aside seven hours to fast and pray as we wait on our God and listen to His voice. During that day we will be sharing some of the visions the Lord is placing in our hearts about the future including another church plant and a concept development plan of the property here at Bridgeman. I want to really encourage everyone to set aside time to share with us on that day. Ephesians 3:16-17 says: I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

As part of this prayer week we are holding a special healing service on the afternoon of Pentecost Sunday 27 May. Sometimes we only come to a healing service when we are facing a very serious issue in our lives. On this occasion we have been prompted by the Holy Spirit to invite those who deal with health issues which may commonly be placed in the minor category. These chronic complaints we usually manage as best as we are able, but they often rob us of energy and the capacity to function effectively. We believe we should bring these to our Master at this special Pentecost healing service. Prayer will occur primarily in small groups including some ministry teams composed of only men or women. Whatever your need may be, however small or great, I do encourage you to come and receive prayer.

Prayer is powerful because God moves in response to prayer (see Genesis 25:21). God has plans to pour out rivers of blessing… so let's keep praying.

Peter

Sunday May 6

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:27:24 GMT

There is an incredible blessing we experience as we meet together corporately to worship. We were never meant to do the journey of life alone. God's plan was always for us to live in community with other believers so we can support, love and encourage one another.
My reading this morning as I write this, was from Hebrew 10. Verse 25 says…
"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Right from the beginning, in Genesis 2:18 God said "it's not good for man to be alone." We were hardwired for relationships and to live in community with one another. The greatest expression of this is the church where people with different backgrounds, experiences, gifts and personalities come together as one to serve and worship Jesus.

Jesus loves the church and has given us His Holy Spirit, commissioning us to change the world in which we live as we share His love. Bill Hybels says "The local church is the hope of the world." I really believe that with all my heart and I am so excited about what God is doing through us as His people here at Bridgeman, and the visions He is giving us for the future.

Yesterday we were able to bless single mothers through the "Love to You" event. Thanks to all who donated goods and volunteered their time. In just a couple of weeks we have another opportunity through "Yes We Care" to bless people in our community with practical help. Everyone can play a part, so don't forget to sign up today at the information table and nominate anyone you know who we can help.

It is also such a blessing for us as a local church to be linked with the broader expression Christ's church right across the world. We are part of a big family! Today in our service we will hear from the MCF Team who have just returned from Kenya. They have many stories to share of how God is powerfully at work transforming communities through the work of Mully Children's Family.

Today we are also privileged to welcome the Watoto team from Uganda. We want to give them a very warm welcome as they share with us. Tonight at our 6.30pm service they will share more of how God is powerfully at work building His church and changing lives.

Today we get a little taste of heaven as people from every nation, tribe, people and language will literally join together to worship Jesus in our services. My prayer is that you will personally know much encouragement and blessing today as we gather together as Christ's church.

Nathan

Sunday April 29

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:20:05 GMT

Last Wednesday we held our first ANZAC Day service here at Bridgeman. It was a very moving and God honouring service attended by more than 320 people. The service included an historical remembrance of sacrifices made by defence personnel, written by Michael Tracey, a recognition of more than 20 service men and women who are connected with our church family, prayers for those serving overseas and those who are suffering, the stirring strains of the 'Last Post' played by Corporal Andrew Bignell, a moving item, 'Abide with me' arranged and sung by Andy De Jager, a great salvation testimony by Corporal Tim Flitton and a powerful message by Rev Trevor Harris that Jesus is the 'Prince of Peace'. Many I spoke to after the service said it was the most impacting ANZAC day service they had ever attended. A very big thank you to the many who played a part and especially Trevor Harris who coordinated all the aspects of this service. We thank our Heavenly Father for another wonderful opportunity to share His love with so many from our community.

This morning the team from Kenya are arriving home. A message from the team this past week, after completing their work responsibilities said, "We helped serve lunch to the whole school. Departing was full of emotion, after each of us said goodbye to all 280 children and others. Charles Mulli made a special visit to thank the team and Bridgeman for all the work and support. We had very special time of prayer. Back home Sun. Thanks for all the prayer support." At our services next Sunday we look forward to hearing reports from the team about the trip and at the 6.30 pm service we will be listening to the Watoto children's choir. It will be great day to see what God is doing through His worldwide family to bring help and healing to those with so little. This week we are especially praying from those connected with our church family who are serving Christ throughout the world.

Finally, I was speaking to someone during the week and he said, "When you read God's Word it just washes over you and keeps reorientating your life to what is most important." On the current cover of Scripture Union's Bible reading notes, Encounter with God, it asks the question "What has the Bible ever done for us?" It answered with this quote. "It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom." In our practices as a church we state, "Since God's Word is the only completely reliable and truthful authority, we accept the Bible as our manual for living. Our first question when faced with a decision is, 'What does the Bible say?' We teach from the Bible and encourage every member to read the Bible daily. The Bible is the basis for all we believe." The Word of God is essential for every one of us and our prayer as a church is that every one of us will make this a daily discipline. I want to warmly recommend devotional material from Scripture Union and Everyday with Jesus which are a great help in guiding our daily reflection on God's Word. (See Daphne at the cards at the back of the church if you would like to place an order for either of these resources.)

It is such an incredible blessing, throughout another week, to worship and serve our loving God who has so graciously revealed himself to us.

Peter

Sunday April 22

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:08:35 GMT

News from the Kenya team is that everyone is healthy and working very hard. They have been valuing our prayers and we will be praying for the team again this week in our regular prayer meetings. I have copied a couple of posts from the team blog to give some idea of how things are going.

Today we spent time moving lots of 20kg blocks around the site for the other staff to lay as foundations. We moved some more piles of dirt and then spent more time cleaning the old paint off the blackboards. Others also spent time digging and preparing foundations for a veranda along one of the classroom blocks. All in all a hard days work with lots of tired and sore bodies returning back to our accommodation.
Today was a satisfying day. We leveled out the floor in 2 of the rooms in the dining hall and finished a floor in 1 classroom ready for concrete. It is hot, hard work - move this pile of dirt, move this stack of rocks, fill this water tank, scrape off this blackboard. But we are enjoying it as a team and can see results at the end of the day.
We've officially hit day 14 and what progress we've seen with the task set before us! We take comfort each day knowing that God is with us and directing our every step! Pumped for another day of doing the Lords work!!

If you want to follow the blog then try this address or email the church for an electronic copy. https://www.facebook.com/MullyChildrensFamilyKenyaVisit2012?ref=ts

As the team is working hard in Kenya to see the development of educational facilities at the orphanage, we are also working hard on the developments planned for the top property. For those who have joined us this year and may not be aware of the vision the Lord has given us, we are seeking to build a further 70 car parks, construct an additional small toilet block, renovate the shed and create a covered walkway to The House. At the moment it is not physical labour, (although many were involved in lots of practical work when we were renovating The House), but we are depending on our consultants to continue their hard work in providing all the additional information required by the Brisbane City Council. Following the satisfactory outcome of discussions with Main Roads regarding the proposed future land resumption of a small strip of land along Albany Creek Road, our consultants are preparing to submit another set of reports. Please keep praying that our application will be approved as soon as possible. We praise God for the constant flow of funds towards our Everyone Reaching More Appeal. We are trusting that by early next year we will have raised the remaining amount needed and be able to proceed in seeing this vision come to fulfilment.

Along with MCF, we keep trusting our God to provide all that is needed for His work to continue. We hold onto the words God spoke to Abraham "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Gen 18:14.)

Peter

Sunday April 15

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:40:53 GMT

The Lord did so many wonderful things leading up to Easter through the Tent meetings, and then He powerfully blessed again last weekend. Thank you to everyone who was involved in helping us to reach out over Easter. Someone wrote in an email… I wanted to write and let you know how much I enjoyed the Good Friday service. What a great team effort - the welcoming team, the musicians, drama team, props and set design, tech guys, Nathan, the people who warmed the hot cross buns and those who cleaned up afterwards - the body working in unity to bring glory to God. Thank you also to the many who took the opportunity to invite family and friends. Well over 3,000 people attended our Easter services and many hearts were moved and renewed by God's Holy Spirit. In another email I received someone wrote… Just wanted to send you a note to say what an excellent service it was this morning, Easter Sunday. My wife and I and our three children have been attending the church as visitors for the past six months. We came away with a wonderfully renewed sense of God's working in our lives. Many seeds were also planted in people's lives. I met a couple whose grand children attend our Playtime, and who in previous years had received gift packs through our Easter door knocks. It was their first time with us at one of our services. Our hearts fill with praise to God for the past few weeks where so many have heard the good news and our own hearts have been uplifted with it's great hope.

There were two other special happenings last weekend for which we give thanks to God. Our Easter appeal, which is being directed towards the Orana Youth Shelter, totalled $11,210. Thanks everyone for such a great response and we pray this will encourage those from our own church and the wider Baptist family who are caring for homeless young people in our city. It was also a great joy to farewell the team who travelled to Kenya to serve the MCF orphanage. They have arrived safely and the latest message (Thursday) said… Kenya greetings. Four days now at Ndalani. The children's testimony, passion for life and love of Jesus is inspiring. Spent quality time with Charles Mulli. He had a powerful message for us. How much are we willing to sacrifice to fulfil Jesus' vision for us? Off to Mombasa. All safe and ready for work. Thanks for your continuing prayers God bless, Kenya team. A number of the young people of the church met last Wednesday night to pray for the team and this week at our daily prayer meetings will be praying especially for them also.

Last Friday, we held Merv Dunn's thanksgiving service. Merv who was 84 years of age began attending Bridgeman in 2009. After a wonderful spiritual renewal he was baptised last year on the 27 February. In his testimony he concluded with these words… It is Jesus who has kept me alive so that I would have the opportunity to hear again of His love for me and to ask Him to forgive me for going my own way for so many years. I thank Him so much for all His kindness and grace in restoring me and I am seeking to follow Him every day of my life. I am being baptised this morning to publicly declare that Jesus is the Lord and Saviour of my life. I am trusting in the sacrifice of His life for me so that I can live eternally with Him.

May many more, here and throughout the world, discover the truth and hope found in Jesus.

Peter

Sunday April 8

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:35:17 GMT

Welcome to our Easter resurrection service. If you are visiting with us, we pray that you will feel uplifted and encouraged as you share with us. Today we are celebrating that Jesus has risen from the dead, bringing the hope of eternal life to all who put their faith in him. At the recent funeral service of Leanne McDougall, a loved member of our church family, the following verses were read. These words bring such hope and confidence in the face of death. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15: 54-56). Praise God indeed!

This is the truth and confidence we long for everyone to know through faith in Jesus Christ. It's why we have sought over the past couple of weeks through Easter Live at the Tent, and also our Easter services to share the life-transforming news about Jesus. I have listed below just a few of the great things the Lord did in and through the tent meetings which concluded last Sunday.

We were blessed with amazing weather, with starlit nights throughout the week. It was such a beautiful setting, filled with God's love and peace as we shared meals on the tennis court, worshipped under the big top, listened to powerful stories of God's grace and heard the gospel truth proclaimed. With the fence panels removed it provided a clear witness to the thousands who drove by that God is at work in our community.
More than 50 people responded at the meetings, around 70 Bible packs were given away and many significant spiritual conversations took place after the meetings with those who had been invited.
Numerous seeds were also planted by the Holy Spirit. Someone wrote in an email, "Even though those we invited to come didn't make any definite commitments on the nights they came, their responses were all so positive and I know that God has planted seeds that He will grow in His time - just another step closer on the journey back to Him." Even in those who were invited but didn't come, we believe the Holy Spirit will bring about a harvest through our witness.
The total number of adults and children at all the tent meetings (many came more than once) totalled around 4000 people, with over 900 present last Sunday evening.
All the costs of the tent outreach were fully met through the special offering we received.

There is so much for which we can praise and thank our heavenly Father. Thank you to everyone who gave, served, prayed and invited others. There's a powerful encouragement which follows the cry of victory quoted earlier, from 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

On this resurrection Sunday we again take heart in the great victory Christ has won and in the knowledge that our service in Christ's name is bearing a precious harvest.

Peter

Sunday April 1

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:10:07 GMT

As I write this leader we are preparing for the last three "Easter Live at the Tent" meetings. We have already known much blessing during this week and we are looking forward to what else God is yet to do. Last Sunday night we packed the tent out as we worshiped together. What a great way to start the week. On Monday night close to 200 men gathered for the men's shed at the tent with many being blessed and encouraged. Around 300 ladies joined together for another powerful night of ministry and testimony on Tuesday night. The Wednesday night and Thursday night meetings have continued to know God's blessings with people responding to the gospel every night. As well as those that have responded, many seeds have been planted in the lives of others. There have been many stories of answered prayer with family members, friends, work colleagues and neighbours attending for the first time as well as significant steps for others to reconnect with God and renew their faith. We praise God for all His work and thank Him for pouring out his blessing. Special thanks to so many who have given up their time to be part of this event and serve so faithfully. It has been such a joy to be serving and praying together as we reach out to our community.

Of course our call is not just to reach those in our own community and city but also to be involved in reaching people right across the world. For this reason I couldn't think of a better time than today to be commissioning a team of 15 people to serve in Kenya with the Mully Childrens' Family. We have had a long partnership with MCF and we are very excited about the opportunity to help them in a practical way as well as financially. An offering taken up at Christmas, along with some of the proceeds from the Garage Sale, has enabled us to send $35,000 towards the building of a much needed school building. The team will be assisting in the building of this school as well as being involved in ministry opportunities through MCF. Please uphold this team and their families in prayer as well as the ongoing work of MCF.

We are also looking forward this week with expectation to our Easter Services. This will be another great opportunity for us to share the life changing message of Jesus with many. We are praying that all the blessing we have known this week will flow right through to our Easter Services. We have invitation cards available today with all the details. Feel free to take some of these to give to friends, family members and others you would like to invite. These services are always very special to share in together as we reflect on all Christ has done for us.

God is working in people's hearts and lives. How blessed we are to know His love and grace, all because of Jesus, and to have opportunity to share this great news with many.

Nathan

Sunday March 25

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:01 GMT

Last Wednesday, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit we fasted and prayed from 6.30 in the morning to after 9.00 at night concerning Easter Live at the Tent. The Lord was powerfully present bringing a holy expectation that He is going to impact many lives. Stories were told of people giving invitations and the Holy Spirit stirring in hearts. We are praying that our community will be flooded with invitations both personal and through the letterbox leaflets and signs around the church property. Let me share just two stories which came via email last week.

Someone who works at a church school wrote...
During Nathan's sermon on Sunday, I felt that nudge to take enough Easter Live @ the Tent leaflets to give to all staff. I am placing them in their pigeon-holes tomorrow. I have already mentioned it in one of the staff devotions I email twice a week. The next one is tomorrow. I have asked them to consider going themselves, to think of taking a family member or someone they know and now it's in the Good Lord's capable hands. You are all in my prayers for this potentially life-changing event in the community.

Someone after the prayer day wrote
Thought you would like to hear what happened to us on our way home from the prayer meeting last night. We were driving down Old North Road and we saw a car pulled over to the side of the road with its lights flashing and the bonnet up. We saw a young girl standing on the footpath talking on her mobile phone and we thought that we would stop to ask if she was all right and could we help her with anything. She said her car had broken down on her way home from her birthday dinner at Albany Creek and that she was on the phone to the RACQ. We said we would wait with her until they came and she was very pleased at that. We were making small talk to make her feel comfortable and I threw into the conversation that we were on our way home from a meeting at our Church which is the Bridgeman Baptist Community Church on the corner. She made a phone call to her sister and while she was on the phone I said to my husband- we have to tell her about the Tent Meeting as I could hear God knocking at my heart saying "go on, tell her you have just been praising and exalting my Name and the work to be done here". I remembered I had an invitation card in our car (that I nearly took out this morning) so I went and got it and gave it to her and explained what was happening in the week leading up to Easter. She smiled and said thank you and tucked it away in her dress. Let's hope it falls out when she puts her PJs on tonight and she looks up the web site. How great is our God. If we are bold enough He will honour the work of His people.

Our God is great and He is planning to show the greatness of His love and mercy to many people. Keep inviting everyone as the Lord opens doors this week. The practical preparations have continued with the tent being put up on the wettest day in March in twenty years! There was a great meeting with the 250 volunteers who are serving throughout the week. Come out as often as you are able and keep praying for a great out-pouring of God's Spirit. Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty (Zechariah 4:6).

Peter

Sunday March 18

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:15:33 GMT

At the Friday night Easter Live prayer meeting, we had prayed asking that the Lord would bring a further confirmation concerning this special outreach through the offering we received last week. The Lord heard and has answered that prayer in an amazing way with the current total now standing at $29,749. Praise God!!!

A note that came in with one of the gifts seemed to capture the heart of this special offering…...I had saved this money for spending on my holiday. The plan was to put this unused amount back into my account. But I really feel I need to add it to the Tent Meeting fund in the sure knowledge that it is God's money for His purposes. May many through this outreach come to know how precious they are to Him who rescues them out of His great mercy and kindness. We can be faith filled about the Lord pouring out His Spirit when people are willing to hear God's voice and sacrifice their holiday spending for the sake of people coming to know Jesus. There was a huge number of envelopes received last week and it stirs great faith when we see so many wanting to be included in this eternal investment opportunity. Thank you to every person and family who gave last week and it's not too late if you still want to be included with those who played a part in providing financially for this gospel outreach.

Easter Live at the Tent is now just one week away. This coming Thursday and Friday the big tent will be set up and next Sunday evening we will hold the evening service (still 6.30pm) at the tent so we can trial how everything is working. For everyone who is involved in any way we are holding a special briefing meeting on Wednesday evening at 7pm. This will be followed by a mega prayer meeting, 8pm-9pm for everyone as we ask the Lord to pour out his Holy Spirit on all the meetings. A very special prayer request is that the Lord will superintend the weather so that there will be no hindrances to all He is planning to do.

The literature advertising Easter Live at the Tent is available and ads on 96.5FM will be commencing this week. Please make known in whatever way you can to friends, family, neighbours work colleagues, as many as people and contacts as you possibly can about the meetings and you can get all the details on the web page liveatthetent.com. A promotional video is also available if there is anywhere it can be screened. We want to saturate our local community with the news that these special meetings are being held because we long for everyone to hear that God loves them and has given His one and only Son for them.

Ten years ago the Lord gave us a commission as His church here at Bridgeman to welcome the crowds, speak to them about the kingdom of God and heal those who need healing (Luke 9:11). In a week's time, as we do something we have never done before as a church we again seek to fulfil what our master Jesus has called us to do. Let's boldly and humbly proclaim the good news about the Kingdom of God.

Peter

Sunday March 11

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:10:46 GMT

Last week I attended an Australian Baptist church planters' conference. I was speaking with a pastor who oversees church planting in another state and he told the story how he first came to faith. He was a uni student with no spiritual background at all. On campus one day, he overheard in passing, a few words from the evangelist Luis Palau speaking about Joseph and Potiphar's wife. Something impacted his heart and later that week when he was riding his motor bike by the venue where Luis Palau was holding an evangelistic outreach, he felt drawn to go in and hear what was being said. He said, with his heart thumping, he responded that night to the gospel. He knew nothing about the Christian faith but now he is encouraging many churches to reach out to lost people.

As I thought of Easter Live at the Tent I wondered who else is the Holy Spirit planning to draw to these meetings. Who else will be radically changed and begin a life of serving Christ? Let's keep praying with great faith and inviting as many as possible to hear this proclamation of the gospel. In your Newsletter today is an invitation card to Easter Live and more are available at the info table to distribute to friends and family. Advertising brochures will be available next Sunday for distribution to our local community. Today, in all our services we are collecting a special offering to meet the costs of Easter Live and we are trusting there will be a generous response as we prepare the way for many to hear the good news. I trust too that there will be a great response to next Saturday's working bee as we make sure the grounds are in good order prior to the Tent meetings. I also want to warmly invite you to share in two more special prayer meetings prior to the tent meetings commencing. This coming Friday we are praying again 7.17pm -8.15pm and on Wednesday week, 21 March, following the Easter Live training session we are holding a mega prayer event from 8pm-9pm. I pray the main auditorium will fill that night as we cry out to God and ask that He would work powerfully in people's lives during Easter Live at the Tent.

Today we are concluding the Gospel in Life series with one final sermon. We do want to express our thanks to Pastor Trish who worked so hard to plan this series and also place over 950 people into groups. An awesome job sister! It's been encouraging this week to hear reports from Gospel in Life groups who have been engaging in various justice projects. I received the following thank you from Sally whose husband Dan is serving in Afghanistan. I wanted to thank Steven and Peta and the guys from the care group for organising a working bee to tidy up our yard on the weekend. The guys have put in an amazing effort and the yard is immaculate. Thank you so much to everyone for helping while Dan is away. Especially in this humid weather!! I will be sending photos over for Dan to admire. Dan adores his lawn and he will love that the Bridgie boys have revived it for him and helped saved me from it. We are very blessed, thank you. Make sure you read about some of the other justice projects on page 5 in today's Newsletter.

Great to be engaged in both loving those around us and proclaiming the good news about Jesus! And as God's grace reaches more and more people there will be great thanksgiving and God will receive more and more glory (2 Cor 4:15).

Peter