navigate

AUG 30 2020

For the link, check your email (with

emailed Navigate) or contact the

church office:

office@newpeninsula.com.au

Hello Everyone,

This week we continue to look at the insights into responding to Covid 19 from the Centre for Theology &

Psychology at Melbourne School of Theology & Eastern College.

Last week we were encouraged to: Remind ourselves daily who we are in Christ.

Today we are encouraged to:

GIVE THANKS - spend time each day finding God's blessings in our lives and thanking Him for them:

1. Write down 3 things each day you are grateful for.

2. Write a 'gratitude letter' or email expressing your gratitude to someone in your family or church family, a friend or

whoever God lays on your heart

3. Read Psalm 46 slowly and regularly, reflecting on those times in your life when God has been a fortress to you. 'Oh

give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!’ (Psalm 73:26)

RELATE -

1. Remind yourself that though you may feel lonely, Jesus is always with you

2. Get creative and find new ways to connect with others

3. Keep connecting with our online church service and other online connections New Pen offers

4. Reach out to family, friends, neighbours and church family with cards, emails, Zoom, phone calls. 'Therefore

encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.' (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)

JOIN OUR ONLINE SERVICE

SUNDAY @ 9:30AM

To link in go to:

www.newpeninsula.com.au

Resources for families to use at home during online Church and

for use through the week, can be found at

www.newpeninsula.com.au/FamiliesAtHome

Zoom Kids is on this Sunday 30 Aug @ 11:15am

For your kids to attend this fun and interactive session, please send your one-off consent to chris@newpeninsula.com.au .

For the AGM held last Sunday using Zoom.

For the many reminders we have of Him ‘being the same

today, tomorrow and forever, especially in what can appear to

be an everchanging world.

For those folk who are continuing to encourage each other.

For the Kids and Families’ teams seeking to encourage and

retain strong connections.

For the many dedicated health workers who continue to serve

us.

For Catherine Cole in Newman WA. Catherine also praises

God for the camp she coordinated last week, in collaboration

with World Vision and the Newman Women’s Shelter and

others. The camp called ‘Strong Stories’ was for about 12

Martu ladies and around 14 Martu children. The purpose of

the camp was to explore preferred narratives of strength and

resilience.

For those who are grieving: loss of family, friends, relationships, and life ‘as it used

to be’.

For the Senior Pastor Search Committee, as they move into the next phase of

preparation of interview questions.

For our Pastors.

For our Life Groups, as they continue to be one of the key sources of connection for

our church family at this time.

For our families, especially those who have children doing remote schooling and

the parents who are simultaneously having to work.

For those who have found themselves jobless.

For the Alpha team as they prepare to lead an online course.

For those who are just feeling ‘tired’.

For those who are having to isolate due to the Covid outbreak at Frankston

Hospital.

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PRAY: - 1. Write down your worries as they come up in the day and set aside 10

minutes in the evening to pray about them and hand them over to God

2. For things you can change, break them down into small steps - if you cannot

change something, try to change your attitude as you read God's Word and claim His

promises (try Psalms 46 & 91)

3. Pray for your friends, neighbours, family and church family, for the government and

health-care workers

4. Join with others online to pray for our world and our church

5. Join with another person and do a prayer walk around your neighbourhood. 'We do

not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with

groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind

of the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.' (Romans 8:26-27)

With love & blessings, Glenda

Catherine & Tristan Cole in Newman WA have sent the following

message:

“You are all in our prayers. May God continue to sustain you during

lockdown. We are praying that COVID would be de-crowned,

exposed and defeated and that Spring would bring new life and

freedom to our Victorian family and friends and our nation.”

If you would like to hear more news about our mission

partnerships, and others we support. As well as using this

opportunity to pray for the mission groups, why not use the

mission prayer calendar?

To be added to the email list please email:

office@newpeninsula.com.au or if you would like a copy mailed to

you please ring 5973 8888 and leave a message.

I have been challenged over recent weeks to ponder the question “Whose strength am I trusting in?”

This has come about, no doubt as a result of the unusual times that we are living in. During this time, I have been reading of Habakkuk, the

Old Testament prophet. He too was pondering, and was troubled, by what he observed occurring around him. He lived in Judah, under the

destructive force of the tyrannical Babylonian army and he saw a dying world, and it broke his heart.

He asked God difficult questions: ‘Why is there evil in the world?’ ’Why do the wicked appear to be winning?’ ’Where are you God in all of this?’

God speaks to Habakkuk, telling him that it may seem the wicked triumph, but eventually they will be judged, and righteousness will prevail.

Habakkuk praises God for answering his questions.

Evil will not triumph forever; God is in control, and he can be completely trusted to uphold those who are faithful to him. We must patiently wait for

him to act. Habakkuk is affirming that, even in difficult times, he would still place his faith in God.

In Habakkuk 3:19 we read ‘The sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of deer…..’

In other words, it is God who will make his feet sure and secure just like the deer that can jump across rocks and balance on the smallest outcrop

of rocks with the greatest of ease.

So, as I ponder my initial question “Whose strength am I trusting in?”

I would like to say “The Lords”, but am I sure about that?

Is there a chance that perhaps I am trusting in the share market, as I wait for the financial news each night to see if the market is up or down?

Or am I relying on my own physical strength? Hang on, I have to admit that there are days when I am not exercising as I should, and at 74, those

peak strength days have well and truly passed.

Can I rely on the strength of my personal reputation to withstand the pressures that surround me? Hardly. Circumstances could quickly change

that.

Can my strength be tied to my feelings? Hardly, they too can be like a roller coaster. One minute you feel on top of the world, the next you feel as if

you’re going to die.

Today, irrespective of what is happening in the world around me, irrespective of what is happening on the home front, scripture is reminding me

that my trust and my strength needs to be in the Lord God alone.

My strength needs to come from God; only then can I weather the storms that will come along as well as to allow me to give thanks in the days of

plenty. Whose strength are you trusting in?

I have found it a real encouragement to listen to God’s answers to my prayers of concern and to be grateful that he is at work still, today in the

world and in our lives.

BABY CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to grandparents:

Deb & Gary Fox on the arrival of Henry

Leo, another son for Emily & Joel.

Beth & Richard Johnson on the arrival

of their first grandchild Alana.

What a special gift to each of you. May you

all experience much joy as you see God’s

plans unfold for your little ones.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

To Peter Woods celebrating a special

birthday on Sunday 30 August.

What a wonderful excuse to relive precious

memories, rejoice in God’s blessings and

also a time to experience his many

provisions for today. Happy Birthday.

BEREAVEMENTS

Our loving sympathy to:

Lynda and Bruce Prowse and family on

the passing of Lynda’s mother, Alice

Sandford on 18 August.

Joyce Scott and family on the passing

of Joyce’s daughter, Barbara, in

Shepparton on 21 August.

Nathan, Caroline, Kayden, Isabelle &

Toby DeHaan on the passing of

Nathan’s father on 22 August.

The family and friends of Desiree

Beattie who passed away 27 August.

May the loving arms of our Father in Heaven

be of special comfort to you at this time.

Hello everyone, It was so nice to see so many familiar faces on Sunday at our Annual Church Meeting.

This is one thing I am really missing – people and conversations and worshipping God together. I’m

sure that is true for many other people too.

I came to faith at what was then Mornington Baptist Church (now New Peninsula) as an adult. This

week I have been preparing my testimony as I am about to join the New Pen Youth girls and tell my

story. As I reflected I am amazed how God has used me and how he uses broken vessels. I have been

privileged to be in ministry for 20 years. First with New Peninsula and the last 6 years with Christian

Coaching Institute. I have the blessing of meeting, over Zoom, Ministers, Pastors and Christian leaders

from all denominations around Australia and to hear their heart for God. This year I began as Chair of

our New Pen Board. As we have had conversations on the shifts and changes in ministry because of

Covid19 I am continually reminded of how blessed we are to have Dave and Glenda leading our

Church family in this season and reminded too of God’s faithfulness. That He is our rock and

foundation.

When I get the chance I love to get away in our caravan – for me this is so relaxing. A cup of coffee

with a friend or good book is always a great way for me to relax also. – Chris

I started coming to New Peninsula Church (Mornington

Baptist Church) in the early 1990s when it was situated

in Moomba Street, Mornington. It has been a blessing to

see what the Lord has provided to us all during this

time. I was involved in the new auditorium development

and now with the property garden maintenance team.

Both Christine and I are involved with Rotary Club of

Mount Martha which has allowed us to be involved with

both local community and international projects.

Through our involvement with the Rotary Australia

World Community Service, we have participated in

overseas humanitarian projects in the Solomon Islands,

Sri Lanka and India.

My interests are golf, gardening and travelling in the

caravan. – Merv

Chris and team- You have done a superb job in the organiza-tion and running of today’s meeting. Well done.

Thank you for the AGM. We thought the meeting

went very well. Congratulations to all concerned. Good morning NP staff, Many thanks to all for an informative & happy AGM. You are appreciated; it can’t be easy not being able to get out.

Please pass on our compliments to the whole team who set up the zoom AGM and conducted it so very well! We were very impressed. It is wonderful to know we have such talented men and women in our congregation who work together to keep us altogether. God bless you all.

The Church Board wish to thank everyone who attended the AGM via Zoom (last Sunday 23

August), and also for the many positive comments they have received (some edited ones are

below).

All the motions put to a vote were accepted with an overwhelming majority.

Please pass on our congratulations and thanks to everyone, for the fabulous job in organising and running today’s AGM. We found it most encouraging and thought it ran very very smoothly. We continue to pray for the ongoing ministry of NP and our leaders and the new Senior Pastor.

Thank you everyone for the outstanding

contributions to a very successful meeting. Every

aspect of leadership, reports and all the supporting

technology worked extremely well.

The breakout time at the end was an additional

unexpected blessing.

I think we have every reason to thank God for His

oversight and blessing of New Pen.

It was a good meeting thanks to all!

23 Aug The Way of Wisdom

30 Aug Wise Use of Words

6 Sep Wealth & Wisdom

13 Sep The Wise Family

20 Sept Wise friends & Acquaintances

27 Sep Work & Wisdom

There has been a little confusion over the compassionate and care giving reasons for being able

to leave your home. You do not need to be a family member, however if family members live

near by they should be the first people to provide care.

The DHHS website states: “Caregiving, for compassionate reasons or to seek medical treatment

also remains a permitted reason to leave home….”

And “...As much as you can, you must stay at home. When you leave home, you must use a face covering,

unless you have a lawful reason for not doing so.”

If we use a common-sense approach and try to keep both of these instructions together you should be able

to work out if someone needs a visit or not. If you’d like to check all the details, again you can find them at

this link and just follow the various links to the specifics you want to know about.

https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus

Thanks again to all those you are making lots of phone calls checking in on people. It is great to hear these

stories of people caring for one another.

TO REGISTER: https://www.newpeninsula.com.au/alpha.html

FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.alpha.org/about/

EMAIL: alpha@newpeninsula.com.au if you have any questions.

WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

What about that neighbor or

special friend you have been

praying for?

(send them a link)

Come to Alpha Online

commencing

Thurs Sep 17 Sep @ 7:30pm

(no cost)

Exciting news:

Are you wanting to explore:

Life?

Faith?

Meaning?

Just over 3 weeks to go:

NPBC General offerings

(Please indicate whether it is for MM or RB)

BSB 063 539 Acc. # 1038 8044

NPBC Donation Fund

(Tax deductible, please include your name for an annual receipt)

BSB 063 539 Acc. # 1060 5168

NPBC School Building Fund

(Tax deductible, please include your name for an annual receipt)

BSB 063 539 Acc. # 1060 5272

NP Community Caring (NPCCI)

(Tax deductible, please include your name for an annual receipt)

BSB 063 539 Acc. # 1031 4088

These accounts can be used for internet banking or local branch

deposits.

Our offices are currently closed, but we may still be contacted by:

Website: www.newpeninsula.com.au

Email: office@newpeninsula.com.au

Phone: Mount Martha 5973 8888

Phone: Rosebud 5982 0889 (please leave a message)

To contact a pastor urgently: 0407 311 185 (After Hours only)

PRAYER CHAIN email:

prayerchain@newpeninsula.com.au

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‘For we live by faith, not by sight.’

(2 Corinthians 5:7)

We will celebrate Communion, next week, during our

online Church service.

Please be prepared with some bread/crackers and some

juice.

Families it is a great opportunity to chat to your kids

about Communion, to help prepare them for this part of

worship. You could check out this clip together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZyuQilWJYE.

COMMUNION NEXT WEEK SEP 6TH