May 2021
The Monthly Newsletter of Lilydale Baptist Church
the church
Messenger
Church Office
2/28 John Street Lilydale. 9735 2233
Email: office@lb.org.au Mon-Thurs: 9am-4pm
The Mustard Tree Op Shop and
Café
3/28 John Street Lilydale. 9735 3500
Mon-Fri 10am-3pm Sat 10am-1pm
On-line Giving Details
Lilydale Baptist Church General Fund BSB: 704 922 Account: 100007931 Lilydale Baptist Church Mission Fund
BSB: 704 922 Account: 100007924 Mustard Tree Welfare BSB: 704 922 Account: 100008629
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Church Information
‘A Community of People
who Worship, Grow, Love, Serve &
Discover Jesus Together’
For Pastoral Care and Prayer
Support.
Please contact Pastor Stewart on 0402 287 720
For Church Family
Prayer Support.
Contact Peter McLeod on 5967 2755 (AH) or
0429 494 591
For Email Prayer Chain
requests
“Hesed”
Had you heard of this word before recently? This beautiful, Hebrew word, that pops up at
really significant points in the Old Testament? This word sits under much of the book of
Jonah, which we have been exploring together over the past few weeks.
In the Old Testament, ‘hesed’ describes the very core of who God is. When God reveals
himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6, God talks about Himself in this way:
“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in
‘hesed’ (love) and faithfulness.”
Who is God? God is the one who has every right to bring His righteous judgment down on
His disobedient people. Every right. But instead He does the extraordinary. He relents from
destroying His people, and thus His mercy triumphs over judgment. This is God’s
‘hesed.’ God’s surprising, unobligated, overwhelming love.
Jonah experiences this ‘hesed’ for himself. Jonah, the disobedient, recalcitrant prophet, has
been thrown overboard by the pagan sailors at the end of chapter 1. And as Jonah sinks to
the very depths of sea, he does not deserve anything from God, yet God does the
extraordinary. As Jonah is growing faint or losing consciousness, in what would have been
the final moments of his life, Jonah calls out to God. And God hears Jonah’s cry. And God
rescues Jonah.
Why does God answer Jonah? Because He is the God of ‘hesed’. He is a God who is into
unobligated love and rescue and deliverance; God responds in loving kindness by saving
Jonah, which Jonah probably does not expect, and definitely does not deserve.
If we look at the New Testament, where do we see God’s ‘hesed’ most clearly? If it is God’s
nature to have mercy, where does God act in the most surprising, unexpected, unearned
way? It’s on the cross, isn’t it? The place where God’s son Jesus died.
Romans 5:6 and 8 says this:
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
To the Lovely Ladies @ LBC
QR Codes are now required to be used in all Church settings. Don’t forget to download the Victorian Government App so that
you can be ready to scan yourself in at Church.
You can listen to our
sermons on our church
website
(www.lb.org.au)
What’s happening @ LBC...
Put it on the Calendar
1st May:
Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study 8am—See Gordon Taylor
6th May:
BLinGG Craft night , 7pm @ church—See Ellen Adams
9th May:
Mother’s Day—Celebrate the ‘special women’ in your life
13th June:
Sunday Lunch @ International—See Kaye Bradfield
I would like to say a BIG thank you to 3 men in our
church family who have been making life so much
easier at church since we began to re-gather. Our VP
and PA has been kept running and operated faithfully
so that we can have music, words and sound by a
very small but faithful team of volunteers.
Keith Chatwin, Raj Jagmohan and Tim Allen.
This Breakfast/Bible Study is part of a series of informal, interactive studies for men. BYO Bible and
a healthy appetite for breakfast. Please see Gordon Taylor for details.
Men’s Group
Lilydale Baptist Church
Privacy Collection Notice:
Personal information provided by you and collected by Lilydale Baptist
Church will be used in conformity with our Privacy Policy, which can be
found at (www.lb.org.au) or a copy can be obtained from the church
office.
If you are interested in
joining a group please
speak with Pastor Stewart
.
Life Groups
It's about fellowship and support. Its a great time of sharing and talking. So if your just wanting to sit, talk and share come to the church on Thursday morning, 9.30 - 12.00,
and "mingle".
You can of course also bring along your craft!!
Make &Mingle...Is Back
Life at LBC...
“A place to belong. A place to grow”
Blingg craft is back—First Thursday of each Month
7.30pm at the Church- All Ladies Welcome Bring your craft
All things
Mustard Tree...
Café Update:
In addition to the Café being open
Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday,
they are now able to open on a
Wednesday for Coffee & Cake.
It’s a step in the process of being
able to return to full time opening
hours with full menus.
Are you on
Facebook?
If you are check out the
Facebook pages of the
Mustard Tree and Lilydale
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Eric and Jemima Maefonea
(Josiah, Amos, Erima & Vicki)
1. .Praise God the in-service training for church leaders is still going well. We are doing our second to the last unit before graduating in June 2021.
2. Praise God for providing Jeremiah Lloyd Dauara who will oversee the administration and teaching at the Bethel Leadership and Ministry training Centre as I move to assume my new responsibility as bishop of the South Sea Evangelical Church of Solomon Islands.
3. Pray for wisdom and strength as I taken my new responsibility to give spiritual leadership to seven hun-dred (700) congregations and for different levels of leadership within the South Sea Evangelical Church of Sol-omon Islands.
4. Pray for my upcoming visitations to six regions across the country which will involve a lot of travelling by boat. At times it could be dangerous in rough seas.
5. Pray for Jemima and her role as national coordinator for KYB. She is also busy in training and holding work-shops for women across the country for KYB groups. She is hosting trainings for different women groups across all denominations.
Eric
POWER TO CHANGE: Dave & Judy Huddleston (Tim, Liam & Caitlin)
Deputy National Director
• We are delighted to announce the engagement of Tim to Haeju Kim. Great news! May God bless and direct them as they prepare for their wedding (date to be confirmed) and marriage.
• Give thanks Dave was able to gather in-person with the PTC COVID-19 National Crisis Response Team for a time of debrief, reflection and celebration at the end of April. We concluded our meetings with lunch and a walk in the Dandenongs.
• Give thanks for several senior missionary couples (Darren-Yun, Geoff-Liz) having recently relocated to Melbourne from Brisbane and Sydney to commence strategic new roles with PTC. May God assist them with adjusting to their new surrounds and responsibilities.
• Pray for Dave’s coordination of the upcoming Core Missionary Training residential to be hosted at Bel-grave Heights in June. Much preparation is needed. Last year we were unable to gather physically. 25 team members from across Australia will be attending.
• Pray for rest and renewal for Judy as she takes some extended leave from her work with The Mustard Tree, and for wisdom in knowing when to next visit her mum in Canberra (palliative care plan in place).
Praise that:
We were able to have a stall at the Belgrave Heights Easter Convention – for the interest shown in the pro-ject and the sales that were made.
The number of coronavirus cases in Lesotho appears to have plateaued, schools are re-opening and Jewels of Hope is beginning to operate again
Pray for:
The project manager, Betty, and the JoH administrator, Daniel, as they seek to bring together again those who will benefit from being in the project
Dawn and her team as they seek more opportunities for sales in the lead up to Mother’s Day
JEWELS OF HOPE: Pioneers. Dawn Taylor
K People:
David and Eliza,
David and Eliza are involved in the lives of a growing circle of friends, and are always looking for ways to connect deeply with K people. David is exploring how to use his metal and woodworking skills, and farming experience to
get alongside local men. The team has established an English Teaching and Community Centre, where Eliza teaches.
Ben and Petra
Ben leads an English program that provides both a valuable service for the local community, as well the op-portunity to meet many people. Petra uses her skills as an Occupational Therapist to connect with families who have children with disabilities, demonstrating that God’s love is unconditional and for all.
MAF—MISSION AVIATION FELLOWSHIP
Marcus and Julie Grey. Chief Pilot and Home Support
Praise:
• Praise God that Marcus was released from Hotel Quarantine in Dili, Timor Leste late yesterday (Tues) where he has been for the last 2 weeks. He again received a Covid Negative test result (about his 15th) and has been given permission to conduct training for the 2 MAF pilots, which is what he was sent there to do. We are also thankful that Julie's back is improving slowly, after about 7 weeks and several Osteo sessions. Prayer:
• Please continue to uphold the MAF team in Timor as the country recovers from devasting floods and lock-downs due to Covid.
Pray that the training and orientation to Timor Ops for the 2 new pilots will go well and everything will be achieved in good time without any issues. Pray for safety, good health, good aircraft performance, good weather etc.
Thank you for your faithful prayer support as always. Marcus and Julie
OMF International Simon and Meg Crittle - Japanese Diaspora
• PRAISE GOD for a successful restarting of the Japanese Mothers English Class at Clayton Church, from 22 April onwards. After a full 12 months break due to the pandemic, many Japanese mums are keen to partici-pate in the class. As well as several regulars from 2019/20, we've gained 3 new students. PRAY especially that the mums will listen carefully to Meg's Bible-based talk at the end of each lesson. PRAY that the classes will be the doorway through which whole Japanese families connect with the church community.
• PRAY for God's blessing on our daughter Melanie's wedding on Saturday 15 May, that "the big day" will go smoothly, and be a blessed beginning to Melanie and Samuel's new life as a Christian couple. PRAISE GOD that Melanie and Samuel are both following the Lord Jesus Christ.
• PRAISE GOD for providing a more suitable house for us, from June onwards. Located in Carnegie, it is still in the same general area, but is 2 km closer to Clayton Church than our current address. While our present house has been a great ministry location since November 2017, the rent has gone up every year, and the landlord has been very slow to deal with necessary maintenance. PRAY for safety and helping hands on our moving weekend of 5/6 June.
• PRAY for God's Spirit to be at work in the hearts of Japanese people we encounter, to open them to the message of Christ. PRAY that God will lead us to those who are most open, and grant us spiritual wisdom: where to invest more time, where to invest less.
WYCLIFFE BIBLE TRANSLATORS:
Michael & Charlotte Corden
(Melora & Alexis)
.
MAF PILOT AND HOME SUPPORT: David and Jen Pett
BAPTIST UNION: Dickson & Jennipher Chilele ZAMBIA
Please pray for outstanding Australian visas and African work permits to be granted soon so that new staff can work in their designated locations. We are grateful for the wonders of technolo-gy that allow management conferences and intercontinental remote-working to take place. Please continue to pray for our PNG and Timor-Leste-staff facing major COVID restrictions. Please
give thanks that Marcus and the Hitchens family were unexpectedly able to enter Timor-Leste and pray that suitable permanent housing will be found for them and the MAF families affected by the recent Dili floods.
Please pray for a number of reorganization projects that are now underway within MAF, that they will achieve the desired goals, staff will respond positively to the planned changes, and that our ministry impact, stewardship and effectiveness will be improved as a result.
We give thanks for the convention we attended at Easter and the remainder of the week relaxing on the Tablelands to recharge us for the term ahead.
Thank you for partnering us in prayer, David and Jen
Praise for upgrade of our laptop which will allow for more efficient recording of the Yumplatok Bible.
Would like ongoing prayer for The medical challenge in our house of Alexis - 9 months with his sore ankle, Melora and her chronic fatigue ,Charlotte and her sciatic and Michael has to wait till January for a knee replacement
Our Toyota has finally died. We are in need of a replacement as soon as possible as Melora’s car which we now share is not much healthier .
Please continue to pray for Dickson and Jennifer and their children,
Matthew Inglis - Japan
CROSS CULTURAL WORKERS
Centre for Disease Control in the Dep of Health ALICE SPRINGS
Melissa van Leeuwin
Please pray for Japan and for wisdom for its leaders, as parts of the country, including Kyoto (where I live), are under another state of emergency as the country suffers a fourth wave of COVID-19 infec-tions (with the Tokyo Olympics also fast approaching).
Please pray for me to get on top of coordinating my new Master of Education (MEd) online course (I`m currently in the foundations program stage) with my work and other commitments.
Praise God for the successful implementation of various things which I`ve been learning in my MEd course in the school classroom and for my good marks so far.
Matt
Praise God for a restful holiday and the opportunity to spend time with family and friends Praise God that we were able to move offices in late April.
Pray for Tiana and Rodney. Tiana is currently 18 weeks pregnant and needs very urgent heart surgery in Adelaide. Pray for the medical team as they work to manage Tiana’S rheumatic heart disease and keep her unborn baby safe
Pray for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination across the NT. Pray we will be able to effectively roll out the vaccines in the very remote places
Melissa
