On Sunday we concluded our Vision Month series with a sermon from Tim Horman.

Below you’ll find video and audio recordings of Tim’s message as well as a summary article with small group discussion questions.

Learn more about Vision Month and give toward our Vision Appeal here.

Embracing God's Eternal Faithfulness: Yesterday, Today, and Forever

It's wonderful to reflect on God's unwavering faithfulness as we conclude Vision Month at One Church. Over the past weeks, we've journeyed together, celebrating what God has done, is doing, and will continue to do in our community. Anchored in the promise that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8), we're reminded that our trust in Him is well-placed, not just for today but for all eternity.

A Month of Reflection and Anticipation

Throughout Vision Month, we've had the privilege of hearing from various ministry leaders, each sharing their hearts and hopes for the future:

- Week 1: Our ministry leaders highlighted the celebrations and milestones from the past year, acknowledging God's hand in every achievement.

- Week 2: We unveiled new plans for our church spaces, introduced fresh branding, and discussed the exciting potential of planting a new church.

- Week 3: We rejoiced with our One Care mission partners, hearing transformative stories from around the world, demonstrating the global impact of our collective efforts.

- Week 4: We looked forward, exploring plans and hopes for our ministry areas and the overall direction of our church.

Ministry Highlights and Future Plans

Several ministry leaders shared their visions for 2025.

- Pastoral Care: There's a plan to establish a new pastoral care team to better support those not connected through small groups or serving roles, ensuring everyone in our community feels cared for.

- Worship Ministry: Excitingly, we'll be recording original worship songs under the name "Audience of One." This initiative aims to capture the unique heart and spirit God has placed within our community.

- Children's Ministry: Efforts are underway to develop a discipleship pathway, partnering with parents to provide resources and programs that support families and foster community connections.

- Young Adults: The Leadership Institute will launch its second cohort, focusing on spiritual practices and community growth, encouraging young adults to deepen their faith journey.

- Men's Ministry: There's a desire to enhance intergenerational connections, creating spaces where men of all ages can gather for fellowship, support, and, of course, enjoy some tasty ribs!

- Seniors Ministry: Plans include fostering intergenerational activities with youth, collaborating with other denominational leaders, and expanding opportunities for seniors to engage meaningfully within the broader community.

- Encore Ministry: Aimed at those approaching or enjoying retirement, this ministry seeks to build a sense of community, providing non-threatening opportunities for faith conversations and belonging.

- Prayer Ministry: The vision is to see our church become a house of prayer, where people are trained and equipped to bring healing to others, embracing the power of prayer in transforming lives.

- Mainly Music and Playgroups: The focus is on deepening relationships with families, providing trusted support during the vulnerable and often lonely season of early parenthood.

- Unite (Women's Ministry): The goal is to continue growing, reaching more women, helping them feel connected and at home, and supporting their faith and personal growth.

- Small Groups: There's a pressing need for more small group leaders to meet the diverse needs of our community, with plans to run interim groups to foster connection while new leaders are equipped.

- Youth Ministry: Building on previous successes, there's enthusiasm for upcoming events like summer camp and State Youth Games, alongside initiatives for youth-led community outreach.

Rooted in God's Kindness and Grace

Our senior pastor, Tim, reflected deeply on Ephesians 2:4-10, emphasising God's immeasurable kindness and mercy:

"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ... It is by grace you have been saved... For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Tim reminded us that our identity is firmly rooted in Christ. We are not defined by our works or efforts but by God's gracious gift of salvation. This profound truth calls us to rest in His promises, building our lives on the foundation of His kindness.

Walking in Faith and Unity

Understanding our identity in Christ empowers us to participate in the good works God has prepared for us. Tim encouraged us to:

- Trust in God's Kindness: Recognising that everything we are and have is a result of His goodness.

- Walk in the Spirit: Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, guiding our actions and decisions.

- Embrace the Impossible: Believing that with God, we can achieve what seems impossible, as we rely not on our strength but on His power.  

- Be People of Hope: Holding firmly to the hope of the resurrection, which assures us of victory over death and empowers us to live without fear.

Tim expressed a heartfelt desire for our church to move in the power of the Holy Spirit with maturity and wisdom. He envisions a community where ministry isn't centralised around a few leaders but where every member operates as part of the priesthood of all believers. This aligns with the biblical call for unity and collective participation in God's mission.

Practical Steps Forward

Our collective journey involves several practical initiatives:

1. Supporting Our Mission Partners: We're committed to raising at least $50,000 to continue supporting our One Care mission partners worldwide and around Australia. This is an essential part of our ministry, extending God's love beyond our local community.

2. Church Planting: After two years of prayerful consideration, we're setting aside funds to prepare for planting a new church and to bring the gospel to new parts of Melbourne. While details are still unfolding, we're trusting God's guidance to expand His kingdom work.

3. Facility Upgrades: Recognising the growth, especially among our children and families, we're planning improvements to our facilities. These upgrades aim to better serve our ministries and local mission and accommodate future growth effectively.

Introducing 'Audience of One'

In an exciting development, our worship ministry, led by Jess, is recording original worship songs under the name "Audience of One." These songs, birthed from within our community, reflect what God is speaking to us specifically.

A live recording event is scheduled for 11th November at 7:30 pm, and everyone is invited to participate. This event isn't just about producing music; it's about capturing the heartbeat of our community's worship and the unique expression God has given us.

Conclusion: Focusing on Discipleship

At the heart of all these initiatives is our commitment to making disciples both locally and around the globe. We're not aiming to grow for growth's sake or to enhance our brand but to effectively share the incomparable riches of God's grace and kindness in Christ Jesus.

As we trust in Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we're encouraged to step out in faith, embracing the adventure God has set before us. We're invited to be part of His story, participating in His healing, saving, and redeeming work.

Questions for Small Group Discussion

1. Reflecting on Ephesians 2:4-10, how does understanding God's kindness and grace impact your personal identity and daily life?

2. Participating in Good Works: What are some "good works" you feel God has prepared in advance for you to do? How can you step into these with confidence?

3. Embracing the Impossible: In what areas of your life or our church community do you sense God calling us to trust Him for the impossible?

4. Unity in Ministry: How can we, as a church, foster a culture where every member feels empowered to operate in their gifts as part of the priesthood of all believers?

5. Moving in the Spirit: What does it look like for us to move in the power of the Holy Spirit with maturity and wisdom in our current context?

6. Supporting the Vision: How can you personally contribute to the practical steps outlined (supporting mission partners, church planting, facility upgrades)?

7. Engaging with Worship: What role does worship play in your spiritual life? How might participating in the "Audience of One" recording enhance your connection with God and our community?

8. Discipleship Focus: How can we collectively keep discipleship at the forefront of our church's mission amidst various programs and initiatives?

9. Intergenerational Relationships: Discuss the importance of intergenerational connections within the church. How can we intentionally build these relationships?

10. Prayer as Foundation: Reflect on the statement, "We simply cannot do what we are called to without God's guidance and help, which comes to us through prayer." How can we deepen our commitment to prayer individually and corporately?

An Invitation

As we move forward, let's embrace the privilege of being part of God's kingdom work. Let's lean into His eternal faithfulness, confident that as we trust Him and follow the leading of the Spirit, we'll witness amazing things.

We invite you to join us in prayer, to consider how you can contribute to the future ministry God has in mind for us, and to participate in the upcoming events and initiatives. Together, let's continue to be a church that prays, serves, gives generously, and walks by faith, trusting Jesus for what lies ahead.

If you would like to give towards our Vision Month appeal you can do so on our Vision Month page.

Amen.

Sermon Transcript

Introduction and Scripture Reading

It's wonderful to be with you this morning. A special welcome if you're visiting or new today. As Linda's already extended, we're about to jump into the message. But before we do that, I'm going to read the text that we have based this month on from Hebrews 13 in just a moment. And then we're going to watch a video which we've just put together, which is kind of the part two of the video that you saw in week one, where we were looking back over the last 12 months to see what we—to celebrate what we had seen God do among us in the last year. But we're going to show a video in just a moment that will be all about what we're hoping for, what we're looking forward to in the coming year and beyond. But before we do that, let's read our text for this morning.

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13:5-8, 14-16

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can mere humans do to me?' Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. For here in this world, we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come through Jesus. Therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. Or as Paul put it in Romans, 'Do not be ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation.' Verse 16: 'And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.' This is the word of the Lord."

"Let's turn our attention to the video."

Vision Video Part Two

Video presentation highlighting future plans and hopes for the church's ministry areas.

Reflection on the Vision Video

"Well, I'll just hand it back to myself. Praise God. What an encouraging series of stories and dreams and hopes that we have across the life of our church that we are pressing into together. And I believe it's true that God is good, and I believe that he has good things in mind for us as a church. I mean, he has been good to us in the past. Amen? He's good to us now. Amen? And he will be good to us in the future. And today, as we're emphasising the 'forever' aspect of Hebrews 13, what do we mean by that? Well, at the heart of this, as we look ahead to what we think God is doing with us as a church, is the promise that we can trust, as I've written here, moment by moment in the eternal faithfulness of Jesus. We are not trying to build a kingdom here on earth, but we are participating with the coming of God's kingdom, and we believe that that kingdom will remain forever, will endure forever. And so therefore, that gives us confidence to walk by faith as a church community, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday—let me see, let's say it together: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen."

Understanding the Gospel and God's Kindness

"Or as Paul expresses this idea, which I mentioned in the video—the eternal faithfulness of Jesus—in Ephesians 2, verses 4 through to 10, Paul writes: 'But because of his great love for us'—and he means the whole church—'God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus'—I mean, this is authority language, this is identity language—'in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, lest anyone can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.'"

The Basis of Our Identity in God's Kindness

"We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So, did you notice what Paul did there in that passage? It's quite important, and it's quite profound. Let me show you. So, he's clearly and very powerfully articulating the meaning of the gospel. But listen to the words, the specific words he chooses to use in this passage. And of course, he describes the gospel in all kinds of language in all kinds of places across the New Testament. But in this particular section, there is a very clear emphasis on why God has done this, why he did what he did to save us. And Paul tells us that we're talking here about the God who is rich in mercy—rich in mercy. Even more, that he has expressed the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. I mean, listen to the—like this incredible language; it's so powerful. God, who's rich in mercy and even more incomparably rich in his grace, has expressed his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. And what was the expression of that kindness? It was that Jesus was willing to go to the cross for us, that God loved us so much, so deeply, so passionately, so powerfully, that Christ was willing to go all the way down into death, all the way into our suffering and sin, in order to save us. And the reason he has done that is because God has longed from everlasting to everlasting to show us how kind he is. I mean, if that doesn't grab your heart, I don't know what will."

Living Out God's Work Within Us

"I mean, as I was just meditating on this passage this week, I was struck over and over again at just how unworthy I am of this kindness. Like, what have I done to deserve it? Absolutely nothing. Which is why Paul goes on to say, like, this is the sheer gift of God. No one has earned this; no one deserves this. And therefore, right, we're all equal in the eyes of God because none of us can boast. None of us have been more worthy or more deserving of his grace than any other. We've all equally undeserving of his grace and mercy, and yet he's given it to us anyway. Why? Because God is kind. You have a heavenly Father who loves you and who longs to be kind to you. Now, I don't know what your fathers were like, but we have a Father in heaven who—the heartbeat that he feels for us is his longing to express the incomparable riches of his grace and to be kind to us. And I tell you what, this world needs a dose of kindness right now."

"And so all this is God's gift. It's the gift of God, the grace of God. And that means, friends, we don't need to earn anything. As children of God, we don't have to earn anything; we don't have to prove anything. We can just rest in these promises and give thanks to God for them—that Jesus was willing to give everything in order that we might receive everything. So the gift is free, but it cost Christ everything. And so if you look closely then at what Paul is doing here, you'll see that he says in the light of all of this—in the light of this incredible good news, in the light of God lavishing his grace and kindness upon us, and that's the heart of the text—then only then does Paul go on to speak about the invitation that this kindness leads us to. So first he wants us to understand that this kindness is meant to be the basis of our identity. Now, we're called to be Mary, not Martha, as it were. We're called to understand that we can sit at the feet of Jesus and receive kindness from him. And that's what he wants; that's what he longs for. He doesn't want us to serve him—at least not at the beginning. What he calls us to is to sit at his feet, to receive his goodness, to receive his kindness."

"And only then, when we've understood this, and this has now become the basis of our identity—this is now the thing that we build our life on, the kindness of God. I mean, what an amazing idea that we would build our lives on the kindness of God. That's something I would like to build my life on. I don't do it as well as I should, but I would love to be able to live so securely in the grace and kindness of God that everything I do is the overflow of my understanding that God is good, that he loves me, and that he's going to be kind to me—not only yesterday, not only today, but forever, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So this becomes the basis upon which I live and breathe and have my being and understand who I am as an image bearer of God, as a child of God. And then and only then am I invited, as Paul says here, into good works, into service, into ministry. But it's got to begin with me understanding that first of all, above everything else, I am a child of God and have received everything I am from God because he's good, because he's gracious, and because he's kind. Then I'm invited in the light of that into service, into doing good works. But notice again, even here, this participation in mission, this invitation into service, this doing good works are the works that God has prepared in advance for me to do—not the works that I'm going to invent for myself or try to figure out on my own or do in my own strength, but the works that God has prepared in advance for me to do."

"So he has good works prepared in advance for you and for me and for all of us as a church. Why? Because he, Paul says, we are God's handiwork. We are the work of God, in other words. So we're the work of God, and that means that as the outworking of God's work in us, we are going to do the works of God. Does that make sense? We are the work of God, and the outworking of God's working in is that we will do what God has worked in us. So we will do the works of God. In other words, we're not going to do the works of Tim, we're not going to do the works of Linda, we're not going to do the works of Darren, we're not going to do the works of the elders; we are going to do the works of God. And that's the promise. If we understand who we are in Christ and we walk with him, then the natural overflow of relationship with Jesus and understanding the incomparable riches of God's grace and kindness to us in Christ is that the overflow of our life together as a church will be that we will do the works of God—the works that God has prepared in advance for us. I don't know about you, but I find that pretty darn exciting. Like, I don't want to do my works, but I definitely want to do the works of God. Like, what would that even look like? I don't know yet, but I'm so excited to find out. Aren't you? I want to see the surprises that God has in store for us as we follow his lead, because it will be so much better than anything we could produce for ourselves in our own power. In fact, 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard what God has prepared for those who love him.' Like, that's the promise of life in the kingdom of God—that it will be an amazing and exciting adventure that will go well beyond all we could ask or imagine, according to God's power that's at work in us. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen."

Our Identity in Christ and Kingdom Authority

"So friends, we are just outworking what God has already worked in us. And that means we can be confident of what lies ahead as we trust in God's kindness and walk in the Spirit, that what will happen among us will be the overflow of God's will and power. And it will be, as I said, an incredible adventure and a privilege. And that's why Paul says, you know, as followers of Jesus, we've got to understand that we are—we're not just God's servants, but that we've been raised up, he says here in verse six, raised up with Christ and seated with him in heavenly places. I mean, obviously that's not literally true yet, but in the Spirit it's true. In our identity in Christ, it's true that we are seated with Christ. In other words, we're sharing in all the authority and power that he has. We're sharing in the goodness of his kingdom. We're sharing in the overflow of his rule and reign. And that's what it means to be in the church, to be part of the body of Christ, is that we—what we experience in this world is the in-breaking of God's kingdom, is God's realm into our space. So as we pray the Lord's Prayer—'Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven'—we are simply exercising our authority as kings and priests, as Revelation 5 tells us—kings and priests. When we pray the Lord's Prayer, which is, by the way, if you look at the Greek verbs in that prayer, they're in the imperative; they're command verbs. So what we're saying is, God, bring in your kingdom. God, do your will here on earth as it is in heaven. It is our right and our privilege and our authority to do so because we are not created in our own image; we're created in the image of God, and we've been filled with the power of Jesus. We're seated with him in heavenly places. So we are allowed to pray with that kind of authority, with that kind of conviction, and with that kind of power. Are you with me?"

The Hope of the Resurrection

"Because what we're doing as the children of God, as members of the church, is that we are joining with God to do the impossible. So it's going to take a little bit of—I don't know, what do you call it? Faith. That's what you call it. Because if we're called to do the impossible in Christ—I mean, seeing lives transformed, seeing lives made new, seeing people born again, seeing people come to faith in Christ and discovering what it was, who it was that they were truly made for—that's impossible work for us. We can't change people's hearts; we can't change people's minds; we can't force people to believe. But what we do as the church therefore is impossible. And yet it is still what we're called to, because as Paul says here in Ephesians 2, we're not doing our good works; we're doing the good works of God. And so therefore, everything we aim for as a church should have that edge of impossibility about it. Do you agree? I think that's what we're called to, and that's the adventure. And that's where faith comes in. And so our task then—so what is our task? I think our task then as the church, recognising that we can't make the kingdom of God happen—that's something God does—but what we can do is that we can create the contexts. We create spaces and opportunities for people to hear the good news, to hear the good news of Jesus, to experience the love of Jesus through the overflow of our love for one another and for our neighbours. And then we pray, and we pray continually, and we pray passionately that God would do then through those spaces, in those contexts, through our relationships as we reach out to love people, that God would do what only God can do in those moments. But we would be his hands and feet; we would be his vessels; we would be his mouthpiece; we would be his physical presence with people. And that we'd pray, and we'd pray, and we'd pray that God would give us what we need in the Spirit of God, so that the overflow of what we do when we love people would be that they'd encounter Jesus, and they'd hear the good news, they'd be convicted, and they would be transformed by it. And so we're praying continually, Lord, would you do the impossible through us?"

"And that's how we've expressed it in our vision document all the way through. We've said over and over that what we're reaching for as a church are impossible things. But that is always how the kingdom of God grows, because it doesn't grow by human effort; it doesn't grow by human power; it only grows by the power of the Spirit of God. And so to be men and women of the kingdom, of this kingdom that will endure forever, means that we are people of hope, are we not? We're people who believe in good news, that we have hope for the future, that we don't live in despair, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, that we're struck down but we're not destroyed; we're hard-pressed but we're not crushed. Why? Because we have a hope that transcends moment-by-moment suffering. We have a hope that goes beyond what we think is possible for us, because we have a Father in heaven who's good, who is kind, and has done everything necessary to draw us into his kingdom and to show us how much we are loved. And therefore, I was listening to Tim Keller speak on this recently, and he said that if you are a Christian who struggles to trust in the goodness of God or is living kind of in a space of despair or anxiety or fear, the remedy for that is to think more deeply and more courageously on the promise of the kingdom of God. Remember that this momentary life that you experience—the grass withers, the flower fades—all of that is not the hope for your existence. Your hope is in something so much greater that will endure beyond the grave, that goes beyond what we're trying to create for ourselves in this world, which is exactly why Hebrews 13 says we are not trying to build a city here on earth, but we have hope in an enduring city, a better city whose architect and builder is God. So to be faithful, hopeful followers of Jesus means to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. We trust in the promise of the resurrection—that God broke open even that which seems so final to so many people, death and the grave. But instead, in the resurrection, it was God's declaration to a broken, hurting, and suffering world that those powers do not have the final word. The final word is that Christ has defeated death and has been risen from the dead, who is the resurrection and the life. So therefore, we have great hope, don't we? If the resurrection is true, if it actually happened as a concrete fact of human history, that means we have immeasurable hope. We should be people brimming with hope. There's a lot of things going on in this world which are quite frightening right now, and there's a lot of despair. But to be believers in the resurrection means that we have something that goes beyond what we see happening—the despair we see happening in the world."

"I've got to get a move on or we're not going to get through this. And that's why Paul says in Romans 8, verse 11: 'If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you'—if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. Is he living in you this morning? Have you put your trust in Jesus? If you have put your trust in Jesus, then the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living within you. He raised Christ from the dead, and therefore he will also give life to your mortal bodies. So we have nothing to be afraid of. We can live without fear. I mean, I'm saying this because these are things I reach for as well, right? Not saying I'm there yet. In fact, as Paul says in Philippians 3, as I've got here: 'Not that I've already obtained, or am already perfected, but I press on.' That's how I feel. 'Not that I've already obtained all this or am already perfected, but I press on.' And so that's what it means to be people of hope and faith—that we haven't yet got what we long for, but we're pressing on. We're reaching forward. We're forgetting those things which are behind and taking hold of those things which are ahead, pressing on toward the goal to win the prize which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

The Vision for Our Church: Moving in the Power of the Holy Spirit

"And so, as I have prayed in the lead-up to this month and all through this month, what I've been praying is that this would become the character of our church, and that more than ever God would empower us afresh with his Holy Spirit to give all of us—not my vision or the elders' vision or the ministry team's vision for this church—but that we'd be praying together and asking the Spirit of God to empower us together, to give us and to help us to see his vision for the church. And I don't know about you, but if you've ever read the book of Acts and felt like there's something going on there in the book of Acts that always I've longed to see. I've longed to see in the life of the local church, yet has always felt sort of just out of reach—just out of reach, just beyond my grasp.

"And maybe that's because God wants me to, as Paul says in Philippians, to keep reaching forward with faith. But what I long to see—and we've tried to express this in the vision document and through this month, and I just want to say it again—I want to see us become a church that is able to move in the power of the Holy Spirit with both maturity and wisdom, and with great conviction that what we are doing is truly making a difference and is God's answer to the world.

"Because I believe more than ever that this world around us—this lonely, fractured, frightened, broken world—is longing. They don't know it yet, they don't know this, but in their heart of hearts, they are longing to see the church truly be the church; not to give in to the pressures of our culture, but to stand courageously in the Word of God, to reach forward to the things that God is wanting to do as His kingdom breaks into this world, and to respond to that in the power of the Holy Spirit, not in our own power.

"But when we talk about the power of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit and the ministry of the Spirit, that we're actually able to step into those things with maturity and wisdom. And I say maturity and wisdom because too often what happens is that the church's ministry gets centralised around a few very charismatic leaders with very large egos, and what ends up happening is that it disempowers the rest of the church to truly become the priesthood of all believers."

Empowering All Believers as the Priesthood

"And what I want in this church is not for the ministry of Jesus to be centralised around a single leader or a small group of leaders, but that we are just part of a body together, reaching forward, pressing into what it means for all of us to become the priesthood of all believers. That's what I want to see."

Relying on the Holy Spirit

"And that can't happen through an education programme; it's got to happen by the move of the Holy Spirit, by the breath of the Spirit, by the instruction and teaching and leading of the Holy Spirit within us. So we've got to be a church that learns how to rely on and wait on and trust in the empowering presence of God—the Holy Spirit—because that's what Jesus said when He promised us the Spirit: that 'I will give to you another helper.' I've been a helper to you—in other words, to His disciples—but you're going to get another helper who's even better, because I can't live in you, but the Spirit will be in you. And the Spirit will teach you, the Spirit will remind you of the things I've said, and the Spirit will lead you into all truth, is what Jesus said. The Spirit will lead you into all truth."

The Spirit Leading Us into All Truth

"The Spirit's not going to lead you to become really weird and wacky people—although that might happen—the Spirit is going to lead you into all truth. Wouldn't it be amazing if, as a church, we're discovering what that means week in, week out, growing more and more in all the truth of the Spirit? And that's not just about knowledge. I mean, there is a knowledge aspect to that, but that is also about what flows out of our hearts. So truth is not just understanding things; truth is about becoming the people that can reflect the goodness and glory of God. That's what I'm praying for."

Practical Initiatives and Appeals

"Okay, I've got to move on because it's 8:11, and there's still a little bit to do here. Everyone take a deep breath.

"So I just want to get really practical as I draw this to a close. But let me say at the outset, everything that we have tried to communicate over this month has—and I said it in the video, and we've all said it in different ways, those who've spoken and led and interviewed in our videos—is that ministry is about people. Ministry is about people. And what we want as we look forward, what we want to see happen as we trust in the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, is to learn as a church how to make disciples as Jesus is calling us to.

"Because disciple-making is about inviting people to know the goodness of the Father expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. I mean, that's all we're doing. We're inviting people to come and experience the incomparable riches of the mercy of God through the kindness of Jesus. And so, as we're inviting people to experience that and be transformed by that, and then as a church, organising ourselves in such a way that we can help people through the generations, as people move through generations, to be discipled effectively, to be taught and pastorally cared for and helped and encouraged and sent as appropriate for their age group.

"And so I hope you heard that in the video, that we're really wanting to go for multi-generational ministry, because it's not all about the kids, it's not all about the youth or the adults or the seniors, but together helping each other, praying for each other, working together as a family. Just like any mature, healthy family—mum and dad and the kids, extended family and grandparents—all helping each other to love each other well and to grow in life and to get on with what they've been called to. That's what a healthy family does, and writ large, that's what the body of Christ is meant to look like, and we're all invited into that.

"And so we've tried to express that we want to make disciples, and we want to do that multi-generationally, to ensure that as people grow up in their faith in Christ, that we're able to support and encourage that and send people appropriately through those different stages.

Three Key Initiatives: Mission Partnerships, Church Planting, and Building Upgrades

"So, in terms of what we've been asking you to pray into and give toward over this month, there's been three elements to it. The first element, of course, has been our OneCare mission partnerships, which we are deeply committed to. And it's great to have Robin here with us this morning, one of our mission partners, as Linda mentioned earlier. And this is our first priority in terms of what we're asking you to give to over this month.

"So we've said we're wanting to raise $150,000 this month for these three things. And so, first of all, I just want to be clear, in case it hasn't been throughout this month, that on top of the 10% that we already tithe to our mission partnerships from our general offerings each year, we need to raise additional funds in order to cover our commitments. And the minimum that we need year on year is about $50,000. So we're asking—and the first priority of our giving this month will go toward our OneCare partnerships—a minimum of $50,000 that we want to give to those, so that we can continue to support those missionaries and servants of Jesus in all kinds of different places around the world, which Cari did such a fantastic job communicating last week. So wherever you are, Cari—I thought I saw you over there somewhere—huge thank you to you. And wasn't it great after the service to mix with all of our various mission partner agencies and the expo, and chat with them and get to hear what they're doing? Super encouraging.

"So that's the first third, and that will be the first priority. So whatever we raise, the first $50,000 will go toward that.

Setting Aside Funds for Church Planting

"Secondly, we've wanted to put aside some money for church planting. And I just want to be clear, this has not been a quick decision. The elders and I have been praying about this for, I'd say, around two years now at least. We've been talking about it. It started out as a little bit of an itch that we kind of felt God was continually bringing into our meetings. It would come up every now and again; it was a bit peripheral. But more recently, it's grown into something that we can't ignore. And in fact, at our last elders' meeting, we committed to praying each day for this month that God would give us really clear direction as to what it means for us to press ahead into some kind of church planting endeavour.

"We do have a sense of where He is drawing our attention; it's kind of northeast of here, where there's a lot of growth and a lot of people moving into those areas. But we're not 100% certain yet. But what we have sensed is God telling us that we should set aside some money and begin to build up a church planting fund, so that when God says to us, 'Now I want you to go,' we're ready. We're ready to move. We have some resources. We'll have already begun to talk about it, pray about it, gather some people who are interested, and when the Lord says go, we will be ready to go.

"And part of the reason why we're wanting to give to this in this particular way is because, like many of you, the cost of living increases have had a big impact on our budget as a church. Everything we're doing now is more expensive, just as it is for all of you—I know our insurance, and for me too, our utilities, our ministry costs, our salaries—everything has gone up in response to the inflationary environment we're in. And that has meant we haven't really had much wiggle room to put aside—you know, we haven't had much in reserve to put aside toward this. So that's partly why we're doing it this way, but also because we think it's really important that if we believe in this as a church and we want to press toward this as a church, that we all have an opportunity to give into it, that it's not just something that happens behind the scenes, but we do it up front. We say, 'Yes, we're dreaming about this, we feel the Lord is calling us to this, and we want you to pray about that and give to it if you are able.'

"And so the second part of our offering, if we're able to raise what we're aiming for, then the next third will go toward our church planting fund.

Building Facility Upgrades

"And in terms of the building facility upgrades—really quickly because I'm running out of time here and I need to get Jess to come on up in just a minute—I was questioning the wisdom of showing the images that we showed a couple of weeks back, partly because they're just ideas; they're not certainties. That's not necessarily what we're actually doing, but they are some ideas that we've had some architects generate for us. So I want to be very clear: that's not what we are doing necessarily, but it's a starting point, and that's the thing I want to really make clear here.

"What we've been doing is we've been looking at how we have grown as a church in the last couple of years post-COVID, and much of that growth has been among our kids' and families' ministries, and particularly our midweek ministries as well and on Sundays. And you saw this morning how many kids we have and the energy that's in our kids' ministry environment, and that's been amazing and so encouraging. But it has also put pressure on our current rooms and on our current facilities, and so we've recognised that if we want to keep growing in those areas, we're going to need to do some improvements to those spaces.

"And we need to start that now because, let me be clear, we're talking about something that's at least two to three years away, right? By the time we actually do the work of getting the ideas, developing the drawings, and then going through any planning process approvals we need to, and then raising funds for all of that, we're talking like two to three years away before we're ready to really do anything. The thing is, if we don't start that now, and we sort of put it off—and I know a few comments that came in after a couple of weeks ago were, 'We just paid off the mortgage, and now you're talking about doing another building project.' I don't want to do another building project, church; that's the last thing I want to do. But we're looking at where we are now, and we feel that we have to be responsible by saying that in two to three years' time, the pressure we're currently experiencing, if we continue to grow, is only going to get worse.

"So if we don't start the process now, then we're going to be two or three years behind by the time we actually need it. So we've got to start now so that we're ready in a couple of years. But if we put it off for a year or two, then that's four to five years away, and by then it might be too late. And so it's really just looking ahead and saying, what do we need to do to make sure this building continues to serve us in ministry in the way that we need it to, and where are the pressure points that we need to work on to ensure that it's a great space for kids' ministry, it's a great space for our midweek ministries, and particularly for me, like my heart's really in Alpha and making sure that we have a great space to host Alpha courses. And if any of you have been on one of our Alpha courses in the NPR, you know that when that room is full, it is very hard to hear you talking with people; it gets very noisy. So we want to do some work on that room just to make sure it's the right space for us to host Alpha and host conversation and community and all of that.

"And so the third part of what we want to give to over this month is toward that building project, but really that's kind of the third priority. But it is important, and that's why we're raising this now.

Worship Ministry Announcement

"All right, I'm going to invite Jess to come on up, and we're going to finish here with a very exciting announcement, which was hinted at in the video that you heard a few minutes ago. So Jess, welcome."

Jess: "Thank you."

Tim: "Tell us a little bit about what's coming in our worship ministry."

Jess: "Well, you heard me speak about the fact that we've been doing some writing, as there's a core group from within the worship team—we've been writing our own worship songs. Daniel and I did a course with a group called Writing Worship a number of years ago during COVID, and the whole premise of this group is writing good songs for worship, which is very different to songs that you'd hear elsewhere. And we sang one of those this morning—we sang one this morning. And yeah, I guess, look, five or ten years ago I wouldn't have been convinced that we need to do our own songs, but there's something so special when we sing the songs that God has birthed within us for our people. As Tim was saying, you know, we want to be people that are listening to the Spirit and seeing what the Spirit is saying to us, and so we get to do this through songs that we sing.

"So yeah, we've been doing some writing; there's lots of songs kind of half-finished on the go, but we've got three ready to go. So you've actually heard all three over the vision month, and we're going to sing another one soon. And so we're going to do a recording—we just felt like it was right to actually, while the songs are fresh, capture a recording. But it will be a live recording, so it won't be just us, you know, in a studio—we want to capture the heartbeat of what God's doing in our community, and that's the only reason we want to be releasing our own songs. We don't want to be—you know, there's no big name or anything—we want to just capture what God is saying to us, to our people, and what God is wanting us to sing over our own people. So we're going to do a recording, yes, soon."

Tim: "So when is that happening?"

Jess: "When is that happening? The 11th of November, which is also Remembrance Day, so you won't forget. Ha, yeah, see what I did there? Boom boom."

Tim: "Nice one."

Jess: "Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's going to be open to everyone. We'll have the worship teams kind of at the core of it, so microphones will be on the worship team, so don't worry if you are worried about your voice being heard. But we really want it to be a time where we can all come, or as many of us from the community that feel you want to be a part of—we're going to sing, we're going to sing the songs and record music and video. So you will be on video, so just to pre-warn you for that. But yeah, 11th of November."

Tim: "Yeah, and everyone's welcome—we want as many people to come as possible, that would be awesome. What time is it?"

Jess: "7:30 at night."

Tim: "Yeah, and we're going to do it in the round."

Jess: "Yes, we're going to do it in the round, yeah, which will be very cool."

Tim: "And so around this, with these new songs and we're going to record them, we do have a little bit of branding around this, don't we? So do you want to talk to us about this—the branding?"

Jess: "So, just was asking God, what's a good name for us? You know, One Song doesn't really—you know, bit too much like Hillsong maybe, so we don't want to go down that track. But I was like, God, what is—One Song? One good song, that's it, one good—just one, just one—all you need is one, seriously. Anyway, asking God, hat's the name? And the name Audience of One popped into my head, and so we—I felt like this was a really—this was a God idea. So yeah, this is Mark—the amazing Mark Bentley's done some branding for us. Yeah, so that's what our music releasing name is going to be—Audience of One. Here's some options."

Tim: Hey, all right, again, they're just ideas, there's no merch available yet, but maybe come see me after the service—we'll—new worship team uniform, sweet hoodies, just be warned, guys.

Jess: "Nice."

Tim: Awesome, that's amazing, Jess. And I'm so—I'm definitely going to be at the recording with bells on, so love to see as many of us there as possible—that would be awesome. What time is it?

Jess: "7:30."

Tim: So some stuff on socials and emails coming out in the next few weeks.

Jess: "Fantastic."

Tim: All right, so I'm going to bring this to a close. Jess, you're going to lead us in or play one of the new songs.

Jess: "Yes, and it's good to know each song has like a few different writers on the song, so we don't necessarily announce who's written the songs, but each song is like a collaborative work from the core group. So when you hear them, it's not—yeah, it's a combined team effort."

Tim: Absolutely. And so just as we draw this to a conclusion, we're going to hear one of the new songs. As we do that, I invite you to pray, and we're going to have a moment now where if you haven't had a chance to give, you'll be able to do that. I'm going to put the QR code on the screen—you can follow that link if you haven't yet had a chance to give to our appeal this month. You can do that now or just spend some time in prayer, and if you want to give later in the week, you can do that. As I said, we're going to announce the total next week with our guest speaker Gan, who will be here, but we're going to announce it then.

But at the heart of it, let me just be so clear as I finish here—the heart of all of this is not for us just to grow a big church or extend our brand. That's not why we want to church plant or just make our building more beautiful. The heart of all of this has been our desire to be effective at making disciples, and these are the things that we feel God has been highlighting for us—to get ready to plant, not because we feel that church planting is so great. I've been a church planter, and it's hard work. And just like building projects, church planting is not really something I want to do in myself, naturally speaking. But it is something I feel God is calling us to do, and through all of the elders.

Similarly with our building, it's not about making the building more beautiful; it's about us making sure we're prepared for future growth and ministry. And at the heart of that is discipleship—that's what it's all about.

So let me pray, and then Jess is going to lead us.

"Lord, I thank you for this morning. I thank you for the chance to worship with our kids earlier and how beautiful that was. And Lord, I thank you for what you're doing among our children and our youth leaders, our teenagers. Lord, I pray that that would keep on growing, keep on doing wonderful things among them. Really pray, Lord, that we would be a church that is well-equipped and effective and passionate about seeing our children and youth come to know you and follow you. But then all of us, Lord Jesus, in all of our different capacities and gifts, being able to use those for your glory and for the sake of making disciples.

"Come, Holy Spirit, and empower us for what lies ahead. Come and empower us for the future, for the forever that you have in mind for us as your body here in Blackburn. You're doing good things, Lord—we thank you. We want to walk by faith, and so help us to trust you and not to be afraid, but to be people of hope. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen."