Church not yet in the Paddock

Hi Church Family,
 
We had some of our kids return to school this week as the restrictions around COVID-19 are beginning to ease. To say they were excited to get back to their friends and some kind of normal routine is probably an understatement and they have really enjoyed being back at school. I had the opportunity of working at a different school to them this week too and observed just how excited kids, in general, are at getting back into the routine of school life. I think we all are pretty keen to get back to ‘Normal’ whatever that is.
 
I also think we are all aware that this will be a bit of a slow process and as such I will keep you informed along the way with regard to what’s happening for Church at Granite. I’m open to ideas and suggestions from people as to what this may look like and I’m aware that different people will be comfortable with different levels of interaction over the coming weeks and months, so I’m sure there will be a bit of mix and match along the way. For example, there may be some people gathering at the Church Building and some at home or some may meet in groups and log into Zoom that way. We need to be creative in our approach to getting back together and still be mindful of the implications of what we do. All while we look forward to when we can all be back together in the same place having a service followed by a shared lunch.
 
In the meantime, we will continue to gather together on ZOOM at 10:30am every Sunday…
 
This Sunday as we meet to worship, reflect, and connect as a community of believers in Jesus Christ, let’s focus on Him. We’re not meeting in a Church building or at singular place at the moment and as I sit here typing away on the keyboard the words to of that beautiful Matt Redman song ‘Heart of Worship’ have come into my head. The lyrics go… When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… / I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus. Jesus remains the focus of our Worship, wherever we are, and whatever we are doing not just on Sunday but every day throughout the week. When we come together, we don’t necessarily worship more, but the worship is magnified as we do it together as followers of Jesus. I hope that you feel that in some way even as we meet on ZOOM.
 
This week I will take a detour from Matthew and look at 1 Peter 1:13-2:3 It’s interesting to consider these words of Peter in light of how we see him in the Gospels. How do you view Peter and the other Disciples? In the passage above Peter’s focus is on Holy Living, on Sunday we will dig a little deeper into what that means and how we do it. If you get a chance, it would be worthwhile reading the first two chapters of 1 Peter and then the rest later, It’s a great book 😊 Being Holy is something that we should take seriously as Christians; not just out of obedience but also because it sets us up for right living as followers of Jesus. What do you think it means to be holy in all you do (v15)? What can you and I do to be more holy?
 
Join the Zoom Service this Sunday at 10:30am
by using the following link:
 
https://zoom.us/j/474053157
Meeting ID: 474 053 157
 
If you do not have internet access you can also phone in using the following phone number:
PH: 7018 2005
You will then be prompted to enter the Meeting ID: 474 053 157
 
Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday morning at 10:30am
______________________
Please don’t forget that we can still directly deposit tithes and offerings into the Church bank account during this time. Donations for the building maintenance works can also be deposited into this account with the reference to ‘Building’ so that it goes towards that fund. The details are below…
Granite Community Church        BSB: 633 000        Acc: 16 086 8402
 
Hope you are enjoying your Weekend!
 
Blessings,
 
Ash Buchanan
Senior Pastor
Granite Community Church
www.granite.church
0408 942 145