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We have wonderful teachers volunteering in our Kids Under Construction classes that happen weekly during the 9am and 11am Sunday services. Today we wanted to put the spotlight on one of our faithful teachers, Judy.
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“You are Loved.” Those words will mean different things to different readers depending on who you hear it from and how you are feeling at the time. Last Sunday our Senior Kid’s Under Construction (Sunday School) class created this cool street art which communicates the message “You are Loved.” I saw it several times in design form and finished form and after a slow start, the message has really been growing on me. 
“You are LOVED” God’s love for us is indiscriminate. It’s not based on actions or inactions, perfections or faults. His love for you is based entire on His limitless capacity and desire to love us.
“You ARE loved” This little word, are, indicates a lot. Being loved is a right now reality. It’s not just a future hope that might one day happen. Neither is it a past memory thinking back to a time when you were once loved. This very moment right where you sit, stand or recline reading this, “You Are Loved.” “YOU are loved” This is a message addressed personally to you. It’s not just to every person on the planet it’s also specifically for you to know, experience and enjoy. The question is not, "Am I loved?” It’s, “Will you let yourself be completely filled with the love that Jesus Christ already offers to you every moment of every night and day? May Grace, Peace and the Love of Jesus Christ strengthen and sustain you. Andrew Hilton "But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant." Matthew 20:25-36 Every three months at Church@109 there is a CML (Combined Ministry Leaders) meeting. There are eleven volunteer leaders in the church that meet with the two staff members (Pastor Andrew and Margie.) We update each other on fifteen different teams within the church from the finance and teaching teams to the Kids Under Construction program and ministries like Mum's Space and Men's Bible studies. It is a wonderful opportunity to step back and get a bigger perspective of how God is moving in our church community and growing it. We read through highlights and prayer requests that have been previously collected and enjoy hearing how things are moving. We break into small groups and pray specifically together praising God and asking for wisdom and intercession for all aspects of these ministries. There is also usually a devotion shared by Andrew and then some of sort of equipping or knowledge given. At the meeting on Monday, Phil Edwards who is part of the teaching team at 109 and also a leader on the police force, taught us about how to be effective and thoughtful leaders. We learned it's important to be reflective about how things are going, be mindful to be focused on the mission of our group, and be purposeful to train and equip new leaders. We also enjoy a cuppa together and thoroughly appreciate each others company. The CML has rapidly expanded within the past two years. For years this group was much smaller and has since doubled. With more leaders comes more ideas, creativity, work, and laughter. Good communication and grace towards each other are also very necessary as this group grows. As we navigate wonderful growth at Church@109, may we be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Father, we praise you for raising up these leaders within our church. Please empower them with your ideas and your heart for others. May they feel appreciated and loved and may your Good News continue to spread in Taupo and around the world. Draw your people into these communities, to connect and be known. Thank you for those that serve, may we become servants to your church. Amen List of the teams represented in the CML:
Pictures from the CML meeting on Monday Aug. 2, 2021
Sarah taught from John 14:25-31. In these verses, Jesus is preparing His disciples for His upcoming departure. The disciples are confused and asking questions trying to understand what Jesus is saying. At this point, they can't comprehend why He would leave, and just how He is going to do it. Things in their lives are not calm. Religious leaders are out to kill Jesus and there is much unrest in their lives and Jerusalem. In the midst of this, Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as this world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."  Sarah dug more into these verses and had three main points to share with us as to how we can find this peace Jesus is describing. 1. Presence of the Holy Spirit- we need to be actively engaging with this "helper, who will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all I have said." (Jesus' words in John 14:26) 2. Remembering of His Word- spend time reading and knowing the Bible. 3. Sovereignty of the Father- God is in charge, He is sovereign. The troubles of this world don't win in the end. Jesus is the overcomer of the trouble. It was a very refreshing night and we are very grateful to all the volunteers who helped to make it a success. May God minister to us through these gatherings and continue to do a mighty work in our hearts.  Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 It's so important to surround yourself with people who can "sharpen" you. People who point you to the truth, encourage you, and listen to you. We all struggle, and it's important to have people to discuss questions and doubts with. For the past nine consecutive weeks, that's just what Long Story Short provided. This course covered an overview of the Bible. It striped the story back to its core and then presented major themes in the Bible in a way that is accessible to everyone. (If you would like to watch this series on your own, check it out here.) Each night saw around 18 men come together at Church@109 to hear the story of the Bible explained. They were certainly enlightened as to why they believe what they believe. Many men both Christian and non Christian were challenged and we know the work of God will continue. As a result of the course some small groups of men are being set up to further study how to become a real man of God. If you would like further information about these small groups, please contact Ted Palmer at: [email protected]. Thanks to all who prayed for the course. May the sharpening continue.  We have some great classes offered for the kids during the sermon at Church@109. The kids are excused from the service after worship and communion together and they eagerly take off to the class for their age group. We have four classes offered from ages 2-12. Our children's program is called "Kids Under Construction" because we value children and feel that these early years are an incredible time to set the foundation for a true understanding of the Bible and real faith in our powerful God. The teachers in each class are volunteers from our church family who enjoy connecting with kids and feel passionate about getting into the Bible and learning together. Questions are encouraged and it's such a joy to hear the thoughts and ideas from young minds. This week we will take a peek into the oldest class which is for kids ages 10+. There were a total of 15 kids in this age group from both services on Sunday. We started off the morning by taking roll and sharing fun things from our week. Then notebooks were passed out for the kids to decorate. They can doodle in these during class, take notes, write down a Bible verse, or draw a picture from our lesson. It's a way for them to keep a record of what they are learning and have something to do with their hands if they are restless. We were ready to open the Bible together, but the topic was the popular story of Jonah. There were some "pop quiz" questions asked to see how much they already knew. Anyone from the group could answer out loud. See if you know the answers. 1. Where did God ask Jonah to go? 2. What did Jonah do instead? 3. What happened in the midst of the storm? 4. Then what happened? 5. How long was Jonah in the belly of the big fish? The questions were all answered correctly! It was time to open our Bibles together. We all found the correct page and we read the whole book of Jonah aloud together. The first 3 chapters are the more well known ones, so we spent our time focusing on chapter 4. In this chapter Jonah gets furious with God for forgiving the Ninevites when they humbled themselves and asked for forgiveness. God taught Jonah a lesson by having a plant grow beside him while he was sitting hot and miserable outside. Jonah was so happy for the shade and relief. The next day God caused the plant to die. Jonah is so angry the plant is gone. God asks Jonah if it's a good idea for him to be angry about this plant. Jonah did nothing to make the plant grow and it only lasted a day. God compares Jonah's passion about this plant to the incredible love and compassion He has for the 120,000 people that live in Ninevah. God created them and loves them and He wants to helps Jonah understand his concern for them. From this Bible story we learned that God is slow to anger, quick to forgive, and wants us all to be saved. Each of the kids got a plastic pot to decorate then filled it with soil and a sprinkling of flower seeds to take home. As their flowers grow, hopefully they will be reminded of God's incredible love for them and that He is concerned about each of His children.
"Gather us back from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you. Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting! Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!" Psalm 106:47-48
What a joy to be reunited as a church community on Sunday! Worship was so meaningful after being apart for weeks. If you are looking for a place to come worship, ask questions, or just check out, Church@109 is back together again! We now have two services to choose from to assist in keeping under the 100 maximum. We had 85 in attendance at our 10:00am service and 49 at new 6:00pm service. This Sunday June 7th we will have ice cream after the 6:00pm service. You are welcome and invited, please tell your neighbors and friends.
In the next few blog posts, we will hear from some members of our church family. Enjoy a brief background and details about each person, along with hearing how the four week imposed lockdown due to COVID-19 has affected them personally. Our hope is to draw encouragement and strength from each other as we point towards Jesus. "For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as your are already doing." -1 Thessalonians 5:9-11  Sheryl with husband Lachlan after a 4 day hike in the Tararuas. Hi, my name is Sheryl. My husband Lachlan and I met in Wellington and spent our first year married in Lower Hutt before finding ourselves here in Taupo, which we love. We didn't know anyone here when we arrived and so were keen to get connected through a church. It wasn't too long before we visited Church@109 and felt so welcomed right from the get go that we settled here. Now we have friends who we met through church connections, friends at Church@109, and a welcoming place to worship and fellowship (on Sunday's that I'm not working!!).
An aspect of the lockdown I have enjoyed is the amount of quality time Lachlan and I have been able to spend together as well as all the long phone/video calls to our friends and families. We've made new connections with our neighbours, explored more of our local streets on foot and learned what the hot topics are to talk about with our three and four-year-old nephews. I've been thankful throughout this lockdown that I had to go to work, I think four weeks at home with only the odd trip out would have felt a lot longer! I'm a Police Constable so the work hasn't stopped. Things were different from the get go, lots of hand washing, rubber gloves and feeling like the 'Fun Police' when I've had to explain to people just how limiting essential travel was during level 4. It's obvious that people don't call Police on their best days, but it was difficult to see how many people commented on how the lockdown had contributed to them needing to call the Police - whatever the matter was. It's certainly made me appreciate on a bigger scale just how important social connections and getting out of the house are for our mental well-being - especially for those who for whatever reason don't have the means (or motivation) to keep it up without work. A verse that has been on my mind the last few weeks comes from Luke 6:45 "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." It's been a strong reminder that I need to keep being filled with what is good, specifically God's word. I know going to church is a big part of my spiritual journey and so I hope to see everyone again soon. In the next few blog posts, we will hear from some members of our church family. Enjoy a brief background and details about each person, along with hearing how the four week imposed lockdown due to COVID-19 has affected them personally. Our hope is to draw encouragement and strength from each other as we point towards Jesus. "For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as your are already doing." -1 Thessalonians 5:9-11  Paige (on right) with friend at the school ball. Hi I'm Paige, I have lived in Taupo all my life and I have been coming to Church@109 since I can remember.
With the virus hitting New Zealand it was hard as a year 13 in my last year of school to have to resort to doing schoolwork online with less interaction with teachers and classmates. The last year was merely going to send us off ready for the years of life to come. Most students have turned to group chats online to still keep in contact with friends and family. Doing school work online is harder for some as we have to wait patiently for replies from teachers to help us with anything. Yet some teachers have taken an easier approach and set us enough work to just catch up. Some cool things that have been happening is that more people are chatting to each other and trying to keep in contact. I have been doing so by watching movies online with friends and also by playing playstation with others. I would say I am lucky to have been able to keep in contact with everyone through this time. Throughout all this I have always kept the same words in mind, and that is "Everything happens for a reason". To me no matter what happens it was meant to happen in a way. Yes it has been scary, but we just have to know that we have been able to reduce the huge amount of people from becoming sick by staying at home. In the next few blog posts, we will hear from some members of our church family. Enjoy a brief background and details about each person, along with hearing how the four week imposed lockdown due to COVID-19 has affected them personally. Our hope is to draw encouragement and strength from each other as we point towards Jesus. "For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as your are already doing." -1 Thessalonians 5:9-11  Joanna More with husband Tony, and sons Dan and Matthew. My family unit or ‘bubble’ as we have come to think of ourselves lately, consists of three boys ... and me! My husband is Tony and Matthew and Daniel are our sons. Their names amuse me now as when they were born I hadn’t fallen onto the path of faith again, yet they are thrilled they can find their names in the Bible - well we all know who guided that decision right?
I was raised around faith in England when I was young albeit by my Grandma not my immediate family. My travels brought me to New Zealand in 2003 for my 'big OE'…. well that adventure turned out to be a little more than expected. I’m not sure I could pack up my life into a backpack and return now! My faith journey was a little different however. It began by God introducing 1 person into my life. That person came to New Zealand from another country and had young children also. Our husband’s professions brought us together and I’ve often thought that she was put on this earth to do God’s work. I was reluctant at first to be involved - I had no christian friends or family, in fact a bit of the polar opposite of this. When our boys were off having an adventure together she asked if I would come and check out a new church with her - Church@109. I did and man did I feel uncomfortable singing (something which I now love!) Their family left New Zealand after that but there were others at the church whose communication and perseverance meant that I continued to come each Sunday. From here with the guidance of some dedicated people, the Long Story Short course and some close friends, my faith journey grew to a point where Andrew baptised me in the Lake in 2017. Don’t get me wrong, the journey hasn’t been easy as many of you will understand. If you know me you know I like to be in control and ‘obedience' has been the hardest of my journey I believe. Just recently I was presented with an opportunity in relation to my job which I had been praying about for some time. It wasn’t an easy decision and it came out of the blue but with some words of wisdom from a friend and Scripture, I decided I needed to just trust and obey; “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” James 1:22 was impacting at this time. As it turned out I haven’t been able to start my new job yet due to the pandemic that is creating havoc over the world at the moment. Knowing the ‘control’ element of my personality this could have been very daunting yet I have felt at peace during this strange time. The Lord is still providing for me and the lockdown has brought peace, togetherness and calm to our family life which is usually rife with busyness and self-made stress. In times when many are struggling I often ponder why the Lord has brought such peace to me? I think we were losing sight of what was really important before the pandemic and this is His way of guiding me back to the path He has laid out for me; “I cry out to the God most high who fulfills his purpose for me.” Psalm 57:2 To anyone who is feeling pain and stress during this time, I encourage you to remember the Lord is walking beside you and he has a plan. Faith was hard for me at first but I’m getting there and If I can learn to trust and obey there is certainly hope for others. You are never alone. |
Church@109Our hope with this blog is that we can hear from different voices in our church. May we chose to draw near to God and be inspired by each other. Archives
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