CofC Sunday

Welcome

Praise Prayer

Welcome to our service today here at Whitehill as we celebrate churches of christ and the work God is doing through our movement in our region. And a welcome to those joining us online. We are also sharing today some projects God has put on our heart to further pave new paths into our community. Before you grab a seat, why not turn to those around you, introduce yourself and make each other feel welcome.

*mingle*

CofC Sunday and CD Vision

Today is Churches of Christ Sunday, a day in our calender to celebrate what God has done and is doing in our church, region and wider movement. If you didn’t know, Whitehill is a a member of the Churches of Christ network, which is a movement of affiliated churches, united around the mission of Jesus and love for His Church. It is His love and His mission which calls the church to show love to the widow, the orphan, the sick and the poor, to show kindness to the stranger and concern for the lost, margenlised and the vulnerable. It’s this love that drove members of our movement to establish Aged Care in the 50’s, Foster care in the 70’s and social housing in the 80’s. Today, CofC is the largest provider of social housing in the Ipswich region. As well as through our home care and foster care services, our movement is serving many of the most vulnerable in our community.

Overtime, there has been a drift is missional focus for our churches and our services, however, there is a growing sense for a need of alingment and a closer working partnership between the church and the local service teams. You may have recieved an email this week from me, inviting you to consider a career within Churches of Christ. In many ways, our service staff are lights into dark, difficult places- what would it mean for us to bring the light of Christ into those spaces? We are joined today by our local regional managers, some of their staff, chaplains and a couple Headoffice representatives. Stewart Harris is going to share with us today about our Foster Care service provided by CYF. After the service, I encourage you to have a conversation and prayfully consider where God might by moving you to action in this area.

Today is also week 2 of our Commitment Day generosity campaign. We have run this campaign for 16 years with the hopes of fulfilling extraordinary projects outside of our usual tithing to the work of this church. Historically, we have committed over $1 million to mission and ministry in our local region and abroad. Our projects today are opportunities to continue to pave new paths of connection between our local community and the hope of Jesus Christ. Would you turn your eyes to screen top here more about them now:

*video*

I am personally really excited about these projects. You may not know, but I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside our Housing Chaplains and have built a relationship with some of our housing teams and I think there is a great opportunity for us to show the love of Jesus who might otherwise have very little else. To talk more about these projects would you please welcoem to the stage Chaplain Travis Johnson and our Regional Engagement Partner Steph Luckey.

Q- Travis and Steph, would you mind sharing with us who you are, and what you do?

Q- Travis, you and I have spoken about these projects previously, what are you most excited about?

-Flow-

Q- And Steph, your role focuses on that partnering between local churches and our services, what are you praying for in this space?

Q- What are some ways we can connect with CofC in our region, partnering with the work happening on the ground?

Prayer for CD projects

Communion helpers

Hospitality challenge - Each week as part of our Commitment Day offering, we’ve been asking you to prayerfully consider what you might give this year as your contribution. We’ve also been offering a challenge around our spiritual disciplines. This week, I want to challenge each of you to find times to show hospitality. Now, hospitality doesn’t simply cooking a meal for someone, I cook for my kids I’m simply doing my duty. The biblical definition of hospitality literally means the “welcoming of the stranger”. The Prophet Isaiah writes:

Isaiah 58:6–7 ESV

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

One of my favourite passages at the moment that speaks to this is in Romans 12

Romans 12:9–13 ESV

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

There is this unmistakable connection throughout scripture between the love of God and hospitality, the welcoming of the stranger- whom we all were once too. These projects are aimed at showing that kind of hospitality to some of the most vulnerable and isolated members of our community. As you consider your contribution toward CD 2025 this week, my challenge is would you consider how you might welcome the stranger around you? erhaps it is a meal, a BBQ with your neighbour, or stopping to chat with others as you walk around your neighbourhood, perhaps it is considering ways you might get involved in local community groups and committies. I’ll leave that between you and God, but now I’ll hand over to Steph.

Steph, communion

Pastoral Prayer

Announcements

Discover Course: We would like to invite you to join us at our next Discover course. Held over three Sunday mornings, Discover will help you to connect with Whitehill in a meaningful way. We encourage you to attend the three consecutive weeks to discover more about Whitehill's community, a sense of belonging in God's Church and your unique purpose in this world. Discover Community starts on Sunday 17th August. You can register using the QR code or see Merryl at the Next Steps counter after the service.

Men's 1 Day Conference- Save the date! Saturday 30th August. Join us for a day or learning, fellowship, worship and prayer. Registrations open next week. It’s open to friends and family outside of Whitehill.

Baptism Sunday- If you are considering baptism, we are planning to hold a baptism sunday on the 31st August. If you haven’t been baptised or are considering that next step, we’d love to have a conversation with you and hear your heart for where God is leading you in this time.

Bible Reading