Dear Border Church Family,
This week we will be having Church in our regular venue at the QCWA Hall at 169 Griffith Street, Coolangatta. Parking can be found on Griffith and Boundary Streets as well as on Marine Parade. For shaded parking you can park under Twin Towns. We will be meeting at 10am and look forward to spending time with you.
Border Church this Week
We celebrate the fathers in our community this weekend for Fathers' day. Please see the poem below.
This week we prepare ourselves for service. The message this week, "Saved to Serve", looks at how our identity shapes our new purpose. As we serve our community, we step into the sandles of Jesus, to be His hands and feet.
Kids/Youth Church will be running for the time that the service is on, directly after the worship.
We always have a healthy plant-based fellowship lunch after Church. This week we are having Indian-themed cuisine. We would love you to join us for this time of fellowship. Our lunch schedule can be found here - https://border.church/pages/church-luncheons-roster
This Weekend
Border Youth is on tonight - 5:30-7:30pm. This week we are having a Flashlight Scavenger Hunt in the dark.
For younger children, combined Epic Youth is on at the Presbyterian Church.
Murwillumbah Combined Churches is on this Sunday at 6pm at the Murwillumbah Uniting Church, 2-4 Byangum Rd, Muwillumbah. All are welcome.
Father's Day Poem for Dads!
So God Made a Father - May Patterson
At the dawn of time, God looked down on all He had made and said, “Now, I need a caretaker.”
So, God made a father.
God said, “I need someone to teach children to fish, and to ride a bike without training wheels, and to play catch in the backyard. It must be someone who’s tough enough to run a chainsaw and wield a machete and yet, gentle enough to join his little girl and her dolls for tea.”
So, God made a father.
“I need someone to bring the car around when it’s raining, so everyone else can stay dry. Someone who will keep jumper cables in his truck, just in case he needs to help a stranger. I need someone to notice practical things, like how the tread on the tires is wearing and if the weather stripping around the front door needs replacing, for no one else will.”
“I’ll create someone who’s strong enough to open a tightly sealed jelly jar and tall enough to place the angel on top of the Christmas tree. Someone who will be gracious enough to let his son fish the best fishing hole or to let his daughter win at least one hand of gin rummy.”
“Yes, he will struggle to find his glasses and keys,” God thought. “But I’ll help him find time for the important things, like tumbling with the kids in the den floor, or saying ‘I’m proud of you, son,’ or giving Mama a hug.”
So, God made a father.
God said, “I need someone brave enough to carve the Thanksgiving turkey, for no one else seems to want the job. Someone who’s not afraid to go into Grandma’s dark cellar, or to check on what goes bump in the night, or to remove the dead mouse from the mousetrap.”
“I need someone wise enough to know when to let his child fail. Someone who will pick her up, dry her tears and say, ‘Honey, I know you can do it! Give it another try.’”
“I need someone who listens more than he talks. Who will stand by his family through laughter and tears, tornadoes and snowstorms, good times and bad. Someone who will love his kids and love their mother even more.”
So, God made a father.
God said, “I need someone to provide for the family. Someone who will get up early and stay up late and never complain. I need someone who’s willing to make unpopular decisions and stand by them. Someone to provide authority and discipline, as well as love.”
“I need someone with broad shoulders, broad enough to carry a little child around town and broad enough to pull more than his fair share. Yes, I need someone who will work the second-shift, or take second-best, or play second fiddle, so that his family can have it better than he did.”
“I need someone who is willing . . . willing to man up and provide the love, support and strength his family will so desperately need.”
So, God made a father.
“Sometimes, he will not feel worthy of the love his family gives him. There will be times when he fails to live up to my ideal standard. But when his family needs him, he will show up, or give up, or do whatever needs to be done.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I need,” thought God as He shook His head. “A father to love my children, and if necessary, to lay down his life for them. Someone . . . well, someone like Me.”
So, God made a father.
News and Upcoming Events
We have had almost two dozen peole sign up for our Wellness Workshops after some successful appearances at the local markets. Continue inviting people to these events beginning September 7.
During September we will have online teaching scheduled during Church time while we run workshops at Border Church. These will play on our regular chanels.
On October 5 we have the new national branch leader for Jews For Jesus Australia as a guest speaker.
On October 19 we will be joined by Sue Baynes, pastor to Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate with a message "From Me Church to We Church".
In Novemeber, we will have a series looking at the teachings of Calvinism surrounding Predestination and Election with a Tiptoe through the T.U.L.I.P.
In December this year our holiday series will be Mary Christmas. We will explore the Christmas story through the eyes of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Cultivate Light!
Introducing Cultivate Light! Cultivate Light is the name of our charitable organisation under which Border Church and any future Church plants fall. This organisation is also responsible for our community outreach programs for each sowing season we run.
Twice a year at Border Church we suspend our regular programming to serve our community during our weekly meetings. Service is the highest form of worship and so we look forward to connecting with the needs of our community this September.
For our Spring Sowing Season we will run two workshops - Enhance your Gut Health and a Frugal Feast workshop.
We will provide programs for children and youth during this same time. After these two worshops conclude, we will have additional lifestyle education programs running weekly at various times during the week.
Give
You can contribute towards our community outreach in our tithes and offerings box or online through various options on our website at https://border.church/give
Weekly meetings
Wednesday Prayer Meeting
Prayer meetings are on Wednesdays at 3pm at 179 Botanical Circuit, Banora Point. Please message me or speak to Lorraine if you have any prayer requests we can add to our list. All are welcome to join as we pray for our community and upcoming projects.
Sealed & Revealed
Season 2 of Sealed & Revealed has now concluded. Season 3, looking at the book of Daniel, will begin in October.
If you would like to catch up on previous studies in this series, recorded sessions can be found on the secret YouTube playlist here:
Bible Discovery Groups
For 2024, make it a resolution to begin or to join at least one Discovery Bible Reading Group. They are super simple to do and a great way to learn in community with others, especially those new to the Bible. You can get something out of this no matter what level you are at. We would love to show you how to lead one of these groups simply. Please let us know if you would like to start one.
Other worship opportunities
We run Alpha small groups on a regular basis and if you would like help hosting one for your friends or loved ones to discover Jesus and the basics of the Bible, please let us know.
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday at 10am.
Blessings
love
Brendan, Alina, Victor and Erina