Pastor’s Message

A template of prayer

Happy new week, everyone!

Welcome to October. This means that if you count to three, Christmas music will start playing at the malls. It also does mean that the days are longer and nicer. But let's just hold our horses. It’s not “the reason for the season” time yet.

We have a lot happening between now and December, and I would like to thank everyone who has stepped up and volunteered to help during this time. I also encourage us to keep praying for all these plans and committing all we do to God.

As I was saying on Sunday, all we do flows from our devotion to God and the love he has for us. John sums it up for us:

The challenge I was going to give but didn’t have a chance to on Sunday gives us a template of prayer and action during this season and beyond.

UPWARD Action to God

Commit to praying daily and reading God's Word and obeying what it says.

INWARD Action to the Self

Commit to living a life of health and balance. To prioritise family and close relationships. Rest well, eat well, exercise well, and discover and develop your passions, gifts and abilities.

OUTWARD Action to the World

Commit to going outside your comfort zone and witnessing for Christ to be a transformational agent in your sphere of influence. Act on your compassion, share/give away possessions.

DOWNWARDS Action to Another (Disciple and Mentor)

Commit to walking with at least one person towards spiritual maturity. Share with them what God is teaching you and be a model by living a life of genuine faith.

Have a prayerful week.

Mato.

Church Sundays

Having power over their tongue 

We are moving to week three of James.

James has already explained to us two characteristics of a mature Christian:

Is patient in trials (Chapter 1) and practises the truth (Chapter 2). We will now look at the 3rd characteristic of a mature Christian: having power over their tongue. 

The tongue is a universal offender. Everyone struggles with the tongue. All who talk will occasionally offend with their tongue at one point in time or another.

The average person – not the overly talkative one or the super-shy one – spends one-fifth of their entire life talking. If all of our words were put into print, a single day’s words would fill a 50-page book; in one year’s time, words would fill 132 books of 200 pages each. The point is, we are constantly talking. We talk to ourselves. We talk to others. We text, we tweet. We are constantly talking, constantly thinking, and constantly sharing what we think.

Some of us are external processors, some of us are internal processors, but we all talk a lot. One fifth of your life will be spent with your mouth open. Now that’s a lot of opportunity to bless, and that’s a lot of opportunity to curse.

If you search for the word 'tongue' in the Bible, you’ll find it listed about 133 times. The Bible primarily places caution on the use of our tongue: because our tongue flatters, curses, boasts, betrays, accuses, speaks deceit, uses devious words, lies, seduces, speaks perversion, is spiteful, plots destruction, has the potential for death …

“God put the tongue in a cage behind the teeth, walled in by the mouth, because of its great potential to do damage.” 

In this chapter, James wants to give the believers some feedback regarding their speech, conversations, discussions, and verbal engagements with each other.

He uses a common feedback technique: sandwich – positive, negative, positive.

Tell them their positive challenge (what you see in them and what they can become), their negative complaint (mistakes, shortcomings, areas of improvement), and then end with a positive compliment (areas of accomplishment, thriving, doing well and currently winning). 

So join us this week as we talk about

Dead faith can't SPEAK – because sometimes it's only transferable in our words.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR WEEK 2.

Here are the reflection questions for this week on James.

There is a HEAD (Think) question, a HEART (Feel) question and a HANDS (Act) question.

V 1-9 James is challenging the believers of his day on this point of favouritism. That said, favouritism is something we all struggle with! Who do you have a hard time loving well? How do we see people with God’s eyes rather than our own? Have you ever been judged because of something in your outward appearance? Have you ever judged someone because of their outward appearance? Name a time that you benefited by stepping out in a place where it was hard or not your instinct with somebody. 

V 12 “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.” We often feel like the law restricts us rather than giving us freedom. What could it mean to follow a law that gives freedom? 

V 14-26 Faith is an action word. We often think of it as a thinking word, but it is a doing word. Faith is acting on what we believe in – therefore, “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead”. Is there something God is calling you to ‘do’ based on what you believe about who God is and/or who He says you are? What often stops us from acting on our beliefs?

Youth and kids

A Christmas story

We would like to appreciate all the lovely volunteers and parents who have helped with children’s group during the holidays. It is such a joy to know that our children are taken care of, and I know I speak for parents when I say that we really appreciate the fact that we can run children's church during the holidays.

Coming up in term 4. (Written by Margaret)

The Christmas story will be the focus for this term. Kirstie has been writing a little Christmas play for the children to do in church. We will have a few speaking parts for some of the children that they can learn over the term. We will also practise some songs during the term. All the children can be involved in the play.

You may have noticed that we have been sharing at the end of the church service once a month. It is a great way for the congregation to see what the children have been doing, and it is also good to get the children's confidence in sharing up the front. 

If anyone has a good idea for the name of our Children's Church, please let Kirstie or me know.

Upcoming dates:

23rd November - Family Fun Day

14th December - Carols and children's Christmas play with a baby dedication

21st December - Christingle Service

Youth:

Youth group is back next week. As the youth leaders prepare for term 4, I wanted to remind you of our day of giving, directed towards youth ministry.

Community

Community

The Family Funday is coming up on Sunday, 23rd November. At the beginning of October, Josh will have some sign-up sheets for what we would all like to volunteer for on the day.

Margaret and Kathy McAuley have volunteered to run our clothes swap outreach on the day. So please go into your closet and start choosing the clothes you would like to give away, and bring them to church so that we can sort them out. This is your opportunity to reset your closet and also bless someone in the process. 

In the meantime, please keep praying for this event and all that is being planned, especially for the weather.

Community

Have you signed up for E4 Camp?

E4 Summer Camp 15-18 January 2026

For more information see Richard or Zack, or check out the camp Facebook page.

HCC giving details

Halswell Community Church

Account Number: 06-0601-0867216-00

Reference: Tithe/Offering

Particulars: Your Name