LOCAL CHURCH

In our second week of The Beginners Guide to Prayer, Levi Marychurch delves into the many tensions that exist within the Christian walk. The Bible is filled with oxymorons, where God is fire and water, He is all man and all God, He is the beginning and the end. 

Prayer should be approached with the perspective that we are called to be oxymorons of living stones as described in 1 Peter 2:5. Our prayer lives, like living stones, should be natural, honest, persistent and authoritative - where we embody the oxymoron of being strong yet free following. 

Join us as we embark on our new series "The Beginners Guide to Prayer." No matter the amount of time we've been walking with God we are always learning how to begin again. 

Using Matthew 6:9-13 as a blueprint, Levi Marychurch emphasizes the importance of approaching God with family language. We address God as our Father, asking Him as the provider of our needs to reveal himself to us. Levi takes us on the journey of what it means to pray using hilarious stories of his failed first date with Nadia, English exams and WIFI passwords. Together as a church we laugh, and as a church we are convicted and convinced that prayer is powerful. 

We conclude our Psalm 23 series with a message from Morgan McCracken entitled “God’s Perspective > My Perspective.” Drawing from David’s experiences in Psalm 22, we discover that we can find comfort in the darkest moments of life through reliance on God. When we are faced with difficult and confusing circumstances, this psalm reminds us that God’s intention is to look after us.

Morgan reminds us to step back and see things from God’s perspective. We can have peace in all circumstances knowing God has our best interest in mind. In the midst of life, we are encouraged to let go and give our situation over to God. He knows what we need, where we are headed and He has prepared a home for us here. 

This Sunday, Pastor Levi Marychurch shares in the lead up to Thanksgiving on living a life of thankfulness. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” While these words may seem daunting, Levi provides some practical steps to introduce thankfulness into our daily lives.

We are encouraged to reflect on God’s goodness in the highs and lows of life, acknowledging the bad but rejoicing the good. Thankfulness has the power to add value to what we appreciate. It shifts our perspective to find the silver lining. We are challenged to not only appreciate what we have but to celebrate it. To carry a spirit of thanksgiving with us wherever we go, in whatever we do.

We continue our series on Psalm 23 this week exploring the characteristics of God as revealed throughout this passage. Following on from last week’s message, Jaydn Duff explains how these four characteristics assist us in different stages of our Christian journey. 

We are reminded by this psalm that God is our comforter, guide, our empowerer and encourager. God is by our side and on our side. As we walk with Him, we can learn to reflect these characteristics in our own lives.

This week we hear from three of our young adults as we commence our new Psalm 23 series. Caitlin, Sam and Kennedy each reflect on sections of the psalm, recalling the impact this passage has had on them personally.

We are encouraged to fix our eyes on God, the good shepherd, trusting His guidance. Finding comfort in the words of this psalm, knowing that God is there throughout challenging circumstances. Regardless of what we are facing, God is not absent. He remains by our side and walks with us. This message reminds us that our strength comes from God. As we learn to trust Him with our lives, we find restoration.

We conclude our series ‘Beyond Lisgar and Elgin’ - exploring what it means to be a 24/7 Christian. Amongst the busy-ness and distractions of life, we can often compartmentalize our spiritual life into a box in our mind, causing a divide between our faith and other areas of our life.

Luis Gonzalez takes us on a journey through the Bible exploring the origins of our faith. Through realigning our perspective we are able to spiritualize the secular, bringing God into the ordinary moments of life. We are encouraged by this message to break these boxes in order to access the life of freedom God desires for us. In doing so, we can live a 24/7 Christianity in which our faith flows into every area of our life telling the story of God in whatever we do.

We continue our series ‘Beyond Lisgar and Elgin’ – exploring what it means to be a 24/7 Christian. In Luke 2:42, Mary and Joseph leave Jesus behind in Jerusalem, an act that we can find ourselves doing also. When we leave the house of God we can often feel as though we are walking with Him when the reality is that we’ve left him at church or forgotten Him in the busy-ness.

Pastor Nadia Marychurch encourages us to take Jesus into the simple moments of our everyday which are designed to be worship. Particularly, we take Jesus into our responsibilities, our relationships and our recreation. In doing so, our everyday walk with God becomes one of deeply known devotion.

We continue our series ‘Beyond Lisgar and Elgin’ – exploring what it means to be a 24/7 Christian. Often such a topic can be daunting, but Sam Smith affirms that there is a simplicity attached to living a life of worship.

Luke 2:52 says “Jesus grew in stature and wisdom, in favor with God, and man.” By looking to Jesus’s example of growth we see the simplicity in 24/7 Christianity is that it’s about daily growth in these 3 areas – wisdom, favor with God, and with man. We take God into our everyday through our intentionality around personal development, through inviting Him into the simple moments, and through the way we love others. He doesn’t want any more or any less, so would you join us in living a life of worship.

Pastor Levi Marychurch commences a new series about our roles as Christians beyond “Lisgar & Elgin” – or beyond the four walls of church.

Jesus didn’t just come to save whoever was lost, but Matthew 18:11 says that "for the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” Implying that maybe He came to save something else. God is looking for our faithfulness, and our devotion. A life consecrated to Him.

Levi teaches that three ways that we can practice living this life of devotion include being an encouragement to others, repenting regularly and dedicating our days to God. Would you join us in honouring God from Monday–Sunday as we put into practice these few disciplines together.