HCC news: Mountaintop Moments

Pastor’s Message

Mountaintop Moments

This morning, I have been reflecting on the story of Elijah, specifically after the contest at Mount Carmel. If you are unfamiliar with the story, read it in 1st Kings 18-19. Elijah challenges the Prophets of Baal to a contest to prove to the people who the real God is and, consequently, which God they should worship. Both groups must sacrifice to their God(s), and the one who answers with fire is the true God. The Baal worshippers went first, and after calling, dancing and praying to their god from morning till noon, nothing happened. Elijah then set up his sacrifice, poured water on it and prayed.

God answered Elijah through a fire that consumed the altar, and everyone once again believed in YHWH, the great God of Israel. The rain came after a three-year drought, and the fake prophets of Baal were killed and their altars destroyed. Such a mountaintop moment. 

However, not even a chapter later, Elijah was being hunted by the evil queen Jezebel, and he had to flee. Here was her message to him.

Elijah moved very quickly from the mountaintop moment to the very depth of despair. Here is his cry to God during that time.

God hears Elijah and appears to him physically, feeding him and encouraging him that there are others who have not bowed down to idols, even though it looks that way. Shortly after, God leads Elijah to name his successor, Elisha. It’s a powerful story. Please take time to read it.

I share it because we have just had a mountaintop experience. We just baptised seven incredible people this past Sunday, and the highlight was hearing testimonies of their journeys of believing in Jesus Christ for the first time from those who had to individualise their faith. All of them are making the decision to be baptised. 

These mountaintop experiences are usually followed by discouragement at a church level, but even more so at an individual level. I certainly felt it yesterday because I was very flat spiritually, emotionally and even mentally. I have observed it in the past where we have baptised people, and the evil one has had a field day discouraging them and making them doubt their faith IN God, their belief and even the significance of their baptism.

So, I am calling on all of us to pray for the ones who were baptised. That God will continue to encourage them, and that they will continue to encourage themselves in the Lord. The two verses that came to mind were.

This week, as we experience a mountaintop, and also as we experience the lows of having so many people unwell with colds and flus and families struggling with so much sickness, some of it perennial and unending, I pray that we will encourage ourselves in the Lord.

Enjoy a week of learning how to encourage ourselves in the Lord.

Mato

Community

This is coming up next Saturday, and we would like for as many of us to be involved as possible.

HCC is part of the CCCNZ movement of independent churches, and the Regional Summit is an annual highlight. Hosted this year by Rutland Street Church on 13th September, it’s for all of us! 

Please register if you have not yet.

More details and registration at www.cccnz.nz/regional-summit

Giving details.

Church Sundays

Contrary to popular belief, Father’s Day is not a recent holiday. History books show that Mother’s Day existed first, but the celebration of father figures also dates back centuries. Archaeologists have reported finding an ancient Babylonian tablet from a boy named Elmesu addressed to his father, wishing him health and a long life. It may just be the very first Father’s Day card – without a single reference to farts, hair loss or generally getting old.

The modern version of Father’s Day originated in the US, founded by a woman named Sonara Dodd. She was one of six children raised by her widowed father, who was also a Civil War veteran.

In New Zealand and Australia, we celebrate it at the beginning of our spring season, which is different from the beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere, hence the difference in dates.

It is always difficult as it is exciting during these days, because while we celebrate fathers, there are those who are mourning their fathers, either recently deceased, terminally sick or going through a really difficult spell.

We do not presume to put a band-aid on these situations. I recognise how important it is to acknowledge that these two realities exist together. So as we celebrate fatherhood and Father’s Day this Sunday, let us celebrate with those celebrating being a father for the first time and those mourning not having a father as well. They are probably the ones who need a bigger celebration at this time of year. We will be celebrating fathers this Sunday and will be listening to a reflection on fatherhood from God our father.

Community

It was such a joy to see the children witnessing baptism this Sunday. Especially when they came to the edge of the pool to see what was going on. While they may not understand what that means now. The fact that they saw it happening is something they can hold onto and can form a foundation in their lives. We do not baptise children. We believe strongly that baptism is for those who have made a personal decision to follow Christ. We believe in child dedication. 

This involved the parents realising that they are stewards of their children and committing themselves to raising the child in God's kingdom. We, the church community, promise to support the parents in keeping those vows.If you have not had your child dedicated, regardless of the age, maybe it's time for you to consider dedicating them to God and involving your church community.

Community

Regarding finances

I am incredibly grateful to everyone who continues to give to HCC. Thank you for being generous and consistent, and thank you for always answering the call to give. 

However, we are still operating at a deficit. Here is what our financial guru says:

The BAD stuff

• On a monthly basis we are still spending over $2k more than we have coming in.

• As a result of the bank change, we dropped $400/month, with some people not renewing their tithing.

The GOOD stuff

• Offertories have steadily increased since the AGM (by around $900/month), and expenses seem to be gently decreasing, just not enough!

So this is a call to give. If you have not updated your giving to the new bank account, here are the details. If you would like to give some more, this is your chance.

Giving details.

Halswell Community Church

Account Number: 06-0601-0867216-00

Reference: Tithe/Offering      

Particulars: Your Name

Community

Prayer corner

This week we are praying for…

• Health of our congregation, as we have many unwell at this time.

• Smooth running of our Father's Day service and that we can show God's love to our wonderful fathers and father figures in our lives.

• Prayers over the people running our service to support them and help them feel enthusiastic and blessed in their service.

• Prayer for the people of Halswell that will be aware of us and our mission to serve Jesus through our community.

Community

Online presence

An important (not crucial) part of church is our social media presence and footprint.

This includes our newsletter, website and social media pages, such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. I say not crucial because we would still run as a church without them, but important because they serve as an evangelism tool and an encouragement when you either cannot attend a service or need to go back and rewatch the service. 

While our Facebook page has been active, since we livestream our services there, and our website is running, we need a more deliberate social media presence.

We are working on enhancing the website and making sure our YouTube page is running effectively as well. Rachel McFedires had graciously agreed to run our social media and will be telling us what that entails this coming week.