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Peter Adam teaches us how to pray on the Edge of Eternity

26/4/2019

 

At Katoomba Easter Convention, Peter Adam showed us how to pray prayers of lament, faith, justice and hope while living on the Edge of Eternity. His prayers were shaped by the book of Habbakuk and served as a great reminder of the wonderful future we can look forward to when Jesus returns. 
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Peter Adam preaching at KEC 19.

Good Friday Prayer - Prayer of Lament
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How long, LORD, must we call for help, but you do not listen?  
Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’  but you do not save?  
Why do you make us look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?  
Destruction and violence are before us; there is strife, and conflict abounds.  
The law is paralyzed, justice never prevails.  
The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. 
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- Habbakuk 1:2-4

Heavenly father, there is sin in our hearts, our lives, our ministries. There is sin in our churches, sin in our nation, and sin in our world. Please act in justice and mercy for the sake of your glory, your grace, your gospel, your honour, and our good. 

Help us to live by faith in you, Lord Jesus Christ, when your church is sinful, when the world is sinful, when you delay your judgement, and when you come again to judge all people. 
We praise you, God of our salvation, for we are justified, forgiven and accepted freely, through the redemption that came by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as we trust in his blood shed on the cross. 

Lord God, our heavenly Father, help us to live by faith in you, and in your Son the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel. Please help us live as your servants in your church and your world, trusting you our righteous judge, and following the example of your Son Jesus in suffering and service. 
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We pray in the name of Christ, your Son and our saviour. Amen 

Easter Saturday Prayer - Prayer for Faith
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​Lord God, our heavenly Father, help us to live by faith in you, and in your Son the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel, praising you, God of our salvation, and knowing that we are justified freely through the redemption that came by the atoning sacrifice Jesus Christ, as we trust in his blood shed on the cross. 

Help us to live by faith in you, Lord Jesus Christ, when your church is sinful, when the world is sinful, when you delay your judgement, and when you come again to judge all people. 

Help us to live by faith in you, Lord Jesus Christ, as you redeemed us from God’s curse, and not trust in our own good works of life or ministry. 

Help us to live by faith in you, not to shrink back or throw away our confidence, but to persevere in faith to the end, and so be saved.  

Lord, we believe: help our unbelief. 

Heavenly Father, help us to live by faith in your gospel promises when we doubt, when our faith is tested, when we face trials and temptations, when we are ill, when we are busy, when we are distracted, when we are persecuted, when we have sinned, when we need to put sin to death and live to righteousness, when our love is weak, when our hope fades, when our good works falter, when we are weak and frail, and when we face our death. 

Help us to live by faith. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen 

Easter Sunday Prayer- Prayer for Justice
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Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns! 

We praise you, our mighty God and saviour, the great Lord and judge of all, and ruler of the nations. We praise you for your power, glory, justice, mercy, grace, kindness and compassion in the Lord Jesus Christ, his saving death and mighty resurrection, the king of kings and lord of lords. 

We pray for our nation Australia, and for all the nations and empires of the world.  

We pray for those who have become wealthy by extortion, theft, plunder, destruction, and bloodshed. Bring them to repentance, bring down the mighty, and exalt the humble and meek. 

We pray for those who have made themselves safe by unjust gain, and by the ruin of others. Bring them to repentance, bring down the mighty, and exalt the humble and meek. 

We pray for those whose civilisations are built on bloodshed and injustice. Bring them to repentance, bring down the mighty, and exalt the humble and meek. 

We pray for those who have demeaned and disgraced others for their own pleasure. Bring them to repentance, bring down the mighty, and exalt the humble and meek.  

We pray for those who trust in false gods of their own creation. Bring them to repentance, bring down the mighty, and exalt the humble and meek. 

We pray for those who have slaughtered your people. Please bring them to repentance, and to faith in the Christ whom they have persecuted. 

May the earth be filled with the knowledge of your glory in Christ crucified and risen, as far as the waters cover the sea. You rule and judge all people from your holy temple. May every mouth be silenced because of your judgment and amazed at your mercy.

May every knee bow at the name of Jesus, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 
May your name be hallowed, your kingdom come, and your will be done.
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Come, Lord Jesus. Amen 

Easter Monday Prayer - Prayer for Hope

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O LORD, how long shall we cry for help, and you will not hear? 
Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 
Why do you make us see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? 
Destruction and violence are before us; strife and contention arise. 
The law is paralysed, and justice never goes forth. 
​For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. 

Lord God, our heavenly Father, help us to live by faith in you and in your Son the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel, praising you, God of our salvation, for we are justified freely through the redemption that came by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as we trust in his blood shed on the cross. 

Help us to live by faith in you, Lord Jesus Christ, when we are sinful, your church is sinful, when the world is sinful, when you delay your judgement, and when you come again to judge all people. 

LORD, we have heard of your fame;  
We stand in awe of your deeds, LORD.  
Repeat them in our day,  
in our time make them known;  
in wrath remember mercy.  

Though the fig tree does not bud  
and there are no grapes on the vines,  
though the olive crop fails  
and the fields produce no food,  
though there are no sheep in the pen  
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet we will rejoice in the LORD, 
we will be joyful in God our Saviour.  
The Sovereign LORD is our strength;  
he makes our feet like the feet of a deer,  
he enables us to tread on the heights.  
We praise and magnify him forever! 

Praise to you, our great and mighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen 

Stay up to date with Katoomba Easter Convention:

OneLove speaker Lizzy Smallwood on life, faith and why Jesus is better than the cult of "Self Love"

23/4/2019

 
We are thankful to God that Lizzy Smallwood will be joining the KCC platform as a speaker at OneLove women's conference. In this interview, Lizzy shares about life, faith and how Jesus promises so much more than the cult of "Self Love".
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1. What takes up your time during the week?
​So, as the wife of a Christian Minister, it's different every day and I love that because I think I have a random personality.

Monday is Women's Bible study in the morning and a family food shop in the afternoon (which I find strangely soothing) before picking up my 9 year old Beatrice from school. Tuesday involves running the Parent & Toddler group at Church and then trying to do some studying in the afternoon; reading &  preparing for talks. Wednesday and Thursday I teach in the local primary school and running the Junior Choir. Wednesday night we always have about 12 people from Church for supper. Friday is a mash up of checking on my very spritely 86 year old mother and  getting ready for the weekend and church on Sunday. Saturday is a day off with the family and then Sunday is church. We have lunch every Sunday after the service which is a great way to get to know people.

There are groups using the house throughout the week so there is a constant stream of people through the door which makes life very colourful and nicely messy. We are a very culturally diverse church which means we get cooked some amazing food by some amazing people. 
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Lizzy with her husband and children.
2. How did you come to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? 
Like many, I was brought up in a Christian home and always knew about the Lord Jesus. I used to pray a prayer of commitment in the back of a little leaflet called "Journey into life" regularly - just in case. I finally understood that Jesus died on the Cross once for all my sin on the eve of my 11th Birthday on a Christian youth camp.

I was a fairly nice teenager - didn't do anything particularly shocking so bumbled along, always at church & youth group, ticking all the right "keen youth" boxes. But I think there was a flaw in my understanding - in my heart -  and it was that I was happy to have Jesus as my Saviour but didn't really think too hard about what it meant that he is my King.

So then I went away to university and did the Prodigal Daughter thing. I thought I needed to be in the bar witnessing to my friends and just wandered off the path - I never stopped believing the Gospel was true but I knew my behaviour didn't match up to what I said I believed. So I shut up about what I believed and drifted further and further away from the Lord. Finally, having done all the stuff the world and Satan say is such fun and finding actually it's just a big fat lie and leaves you feeling wretched, the Lord, in his mercy, grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and pulled me up out of the pigpen.

Although I would never recommend a spell away from the Father, in God's glorious economy I finally understood grace and that I bring nothing to the party and it is all Him. Being nice, being brought up by Christians, being in church a lot, being married to a minister isn't it. Doing loads of stuff for the Lord isn't it. Giving talks to women in Australia isn't it. It's all grace. It's all Jesus. 
3. Who is someone who has inspired your walk with Jesus? 
There are many along the way who have inspired me at different times in different ways by their godly example or a word in season. "The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction." Proverbs 16: 21
​

Most recently, my dear friend Sam died of a thyroid cancer she had been fighting for 11 years. The cancer finally out ran the drugs. She loved the Lord Jesus and longed to die well. And she did.

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" completely summed up her last years. Her desire to share the gospel with her family and friends right till her last breath really challenged my apathy and reticence in my own personal evangelism. She  was a Head teacher who was loud, funny and confident but eventually she lost her voice through invasive surgery so she learnt to sign so that she could continue to sing the Lord's praises.  
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Sam three weeks before her death.
Her excitement in anticipation of seeing Jesus face to face confronted how comfortable I am in this world, how easily I forget: "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God..." And her funeral,  which she had planned down to the last detail was all about Jesus (except maybe her 1970's Motown Disco playlist at the refreshments after the service). ​
4. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing women in the Western church today?
​The challenges are many and varied but I think the one I come across daily is the cult of "Self Love". I see it in the way we raise our children to believe they are the centre of the universe with the resulting carnage in homes and schools. I see it in the way we deal with each other in church - falling out over the slightest misjudged comment or perceived offence. I see it in the way we deal with the problems and issues living in a fallen world throws up. The irony is that believing the world, the flesh and the devil's lies about 'self' leads to fear and anguish - not freedom and happiness. Eventually, I think the cult of "Self Love" will be realised as the cause of some mental health issues, addictions and the breakdown of family life.

The world tells us that we are special, that we deserve to be happy, that we deserve to be treated in a certain way by those around us because we are worth it. We are constantly told we need to work on our self esteem; our self confidence, our self worth or our self actualisation. This all sounds well and good until you realise it actually doesn't work in practise. This is because in order for us to do whatever we want to feel good about ourselves, we are going to make a lot of people around us unhappy. It is a counsel of despair. I'm either going to make you more insecure as I place my worth and my happiness above yours or I'll become more insecure as you don't treat me the way I have been led to believe I should be treated. As Sharon Hodde Miller helpful puts it in her book Free of Me: Why Life Is Better When It’s Not about You:
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"The reason self-preoccupation causes insecurity is that it raises the stakes - on dating, parenting, working, and serving - by turning it all into a referendum on our worth. Every slight, every rejection, every awkward interaction must be about us.”

One of the most helpful books I have read on this was Timothy Keller's "The Freedom  of Self-Forgetfulness". It outlines how God calls us into the bigger story - His story - where we learn to live for him instead of ourselves, as we were designed to before we went for self rule.  When we shift our focus off ourselves - our fears, our appearance, our success, our self-doubt - and fix our gaze on Christ alone, we encounter the freedom we were created to have. When we learn what it means to be "In Christ" and we find our identity and security and worth in Him; as we learn to serve rather than be served, we will  finally learn to be free of me. If we could learn to live this out as women of Christ I really think it would transform our families, our churches and attract a lost generation to Christ.
5. What can women expect from your talks from Hebrews this year? 
​I want all women - but especially those who might be feeling discouraged and worn down - to be blown away once again by Jesus Christ. I want them to know who He is; what He has done and how He is all we need to persevere in the Christian life and to cross the finishing line. So I hope we will meet Jesus again in his word and get a glimpse of his greatness. That we will become ‘besotted with’, ‘captivated by’, ‘hooked on’ Jesus again, and as a result -  perseverance will rise in our hearts and we will leave determined to keep on trusting in Jesus and following Jesus even through the dark cold winter nights of the soul.

Early Bird tickets now available! 

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​Whether you have been a Christian for many years or are still seeking answers about God, come to OneLove and experience life changing preaching, inspirational testimonies, delicious food, amazing music and fantastic fellowship!

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This year we're excited to have Bible teacher Lizzy Smallwood open up the book of Hebrews to encourage us that there is purpose in our perseverance, and Anne-Sophie Rowcroft will share with us from her experiences as a missionary in West Africa.

OneLove will be held on Saturday, 31 August 2019 in the heart of the city, at the beautiful Sydney Town Hall.

CLICK HERE to register now. 

Stay up to date with OneLove women's conference:

Life on the edge of eternity: 9 promises to look forward to in heaven

10/4/2019

 
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Photo: Tobias Moore (Unsplash)
Balancing life on the edge of eternity can be a difficult thing.

​We can feel torn between our present life on earth and our future reality with Christ in eternity. Like exiles and foreigners, we can feel caught between worlds as we long for Jesus to bring us into our spiritual home. While some days on earth are joyful and fulfilling, other days can feel lonely and disheartening. Although we know that God is with us, our hearts, minds and bodies continue to fight against sin and death.

At Katoomba Easter Convention, we will be exploring the theme 'Life On The Edge Of Eternity'. 
To prepare your heart for KEC, here are 9 promises to spur you on as you wait on the edge of eternity:
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  1. The whole world will submit to the lordship of King Jesus; and there will no longer be any threats or competition to His power or kingdom. (Luke 1:32-33)


  2. King Jesus will rule with perfect righteousness so that every injustice will be judged and every wrong made right. (Luke 18:7, Acts 17:31)


  3. Our sinful desires that once separated us from God’s holy presence will be eradicated once and for all. We will be made holy with new spiritual bodies that are incapable of sin and death. (Phil 3:20-21, 1 Cor 15:51-57)


  4. We will no longer have to fear the humiliation or disgrace of our past, present and future sin. We will no longer have to feel shame. (Isaiah 54:4, Rom 5:5, 9:33, 10:11)


  5. Jesus will return to wipe away every tear caused by death, mourning or pain. (Rev 21:4)


  6. We will see the fruit of our labour in the Lord and know with certainty that our work and sacrifices were not in vain. (Phil 2:15-16)


  7. There will be unity and peace as believers from every nation, tribe, people and language group comes together because of their mutual faith and worship of Christ. (Rev 7:9)


  8. We will enter God’s promise of everlasting rest from the thorns and thistles of work, worry and anxiety. (Heb 4:9-10, Rev 14:13)


  9. We do not need to fear death because after we die, we will enjoy eternal joy and pleasure in God’s presence. (Psalm 16:11)
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Join us at Easter Convention!

Katoomba Easter Convention is an annual retreat for the whole family.

Get away over the Easter long weekend with the entire family and be immersed in God's Word whilst relaxing in the beautiful Blue Mountains. Connect with family and friends, and grow in your walk with Jesus together.

Join us at Katoomba Easter Convention 2019: www.easterconvention.com

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