Father God we honour You and acknowledge that we need You.

And so, for that reason we bring all our needs to You this morning.

We have all sorts of things that we want to bring before You,

we want to pray for our country, our churches, for each other.

And that we might see more people come to know the gospel on the bayside.

Lord we want to thank You for the Book of Revelation and how You have spoken to us through that.

Father were convinced that Your word really is relevant to us,

and that it is applicable to us in our lives,

useful for our everyday walk with Jesus.

So, we thank You for Your sustaining word.

Father we pray for our country, there are so many people who are afraid, confused, anxious about all that's going on, we pray for those in Vic who are in lockdown, we pray that You would sustain them, encourage them, and take away the need for restrictions that are so imposing and demanding on everyone in Victoria and abroad right now.

Lord our circumstances are Exposing all sorts of problems in our society, and we’re seeing the results of the stress anxiety being manifested in all sorts of concerning ways. Lord we feel the weight of all this.

Father we realise that we have a responsibility to live in such a way, that we stand out, and that our response to difficult times is that we trust in You, and that we have peace and joy even in the midst of trouble and pain.

Father I pray that Christians will truly stand out in these times, and that people will see in us, the true hope we have in Christ, and that they will be drawn to Christ because of it.

Lord we pray for all those who have been at assembly the past week, that You would give them wisdom and peace to carry on with the job they have in leading Your people well here in Queensland.

We pray that You would grow your churches here in Queensland. Lord make us shine. Healthy churches would bring you glory Father, and they bring glory and honour to Christ! Make it so amongst us Lord, as we are not able to shine without Your Spirit in our midst. We need You Father.

We pray for our gathering here. As we move closer to the end of another year together as a church, Father we ask that You speak to us, about where we are at. Show us where we need to grow, to change, show us where we need to repent corporately to You, show us where we are doing well. Father show us how You can use us for Your glory in the coming year.

There will be a lot of change coming Father, we will be saying goodbye to people we love, like the Perkins, and the Frasers, and maybe others. Help us process that loss well, knowing that you are building Your Church, and that our losses mean the gain of our brothers and sisters elsewhere.

Father we’re also seeing new faces and we praise You for that, and that You give, and that You take away, and that whatever you do is for our benefit and edification.

Father we pray for Linda MacKerrell who is safely here, on home assignment, but Father we ask for real rest for her. We pray that You keep her from burning out as she runs around visiting all her loved ones.

We pray for those amongst us who are tired, weary, sick, and downcast. Lord show us how to truly carry one another’s burdens, just as You carry our burdens each week.

Thank You Father for Christ. Thank you for revealing yourself to us in Jesus. We bow the knee to our Lord and Saviour, knowing that you will finish what you have begun in us.

To the praise of your glory for ever and ever.

Father we close with the words of our Lord as he taught us to pray,

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be your name.

Your Kingdom come,

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

Lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours,

Forever and ever, Amen.

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. ⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

⁹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹³ There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. ¹⁴ The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵ The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. ¹⁶ The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia^[c] in length, and as wide and high as it is long. ¹⁷ The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits^[d]thick.^{[e] 18} The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.^{[f] 21} The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of Godgives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.