Friends, Philippians 4 verse 6 says, don’t be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

God’s word invites us to ask him for the things we need. So, let’s do that together now. Let’s pray with thankfulness.

Loving God, you tell us in every situation to pray. So today we thank you that you care for us. Thank you that your care is so rich that Jesus died for our sins.

Thank you that because of Jesus we can come to you and you hear us.

Yesterday we paused to remember the sacrifice of those who’ve served our country in wars and conflicts. Lord God, the freedoms they’ve won are really gifts from you. So, we thank you for the men and women who’ve served, and we give you thanks for the freedom we enjoy.

Father, we pray for those currently serving, especially those on deployment. We ask that they would be effective in their mission to achieve justice and peace. Please protect them and bring them home to their families soon.

We pray for the families of those serving in our armed forces, especially those connected with our church family. Please give them assurance of your care.

Lord, we know from your word that true unity and peace comes when people know and serve you. Today we come and ask that your church would grow. In this time of upheaval, we pray for an openness to the gospel. For us we pray that your promise of grace would be real and present and that you’d fill us with a passion for others to know you.

Please father, we ask that, as we work at a distance from others, you’d bring the gospel near. And that people would put their trust in Jesus.

Thankyou God, that the pressure from COVID-19 has eased in our communities and that most Australians have avoided it. We pray for you continued mercy on us here and we uphold to you those countries still suffering many deaths every day… We ask that the suffering would end soon.

We pray for each other. For those from our congregation who are vulnerable health-wise. Please keep them safe and give them assurance that they can trust you in everything.

We ask for those who are in material need. that you would provide the things that they need and that you’d help the rest of us to be generous in our support of them. For those who’ve been stood down from their work or lost their job we ask that you’d prevent them from being overwhelmed with worry.

Father we also pray the poor. There’s lots of places where there’s no welfare system and people starve if they can’t work. please help us not to forget them. We do pray that you’d provide, and that we’d see our resources as part of that provision.

Today we bring before you the people of Vanuatu as they rebuild after the recent devastating cyclone. We particularly pray for the rebuilding of Talua Bible College. Please provide that your word will be able to be taught in that place again.

Father we ask these things praying as our Lord Jesus taught us.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name,

your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

Psalm 63 (from the Christian Standard Bible)

A psalm of David. When he was in the Wilderness of Judah.

¹

God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you.

I thirst for you;

my body faints for you

in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.

²

So I gaze on you in the sanctuary

to see your strength and your glory.

³

My lips will glorify you

because your faithful love is better than life.

⁴

So I will bless you as long as I live;

at your name, I will lift up my hands.

⁵

You satisfy me as with rich food;^[a]

my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.

⁶

When I think of you as I lie on my bed,

I meditate on you during the night watches

⁷

because you are my helper;

I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.

⁸

I follow close to you;

your right hand holds on to me.

⁹

But those who intend to destroy my life

will go into the depths of the earth.

¹⁰

They will be given over to the power of the sword;

they will become a meal for jackals.

¹¹

But the king will rejoice in God;

all who swear by him will boast,

for the mouths of liars will be shut.

Sermon outline:

1. The desert. Not just physical but spiritual

2. The Psalm - "David's Desert Devotional"

The soul that survives...

i) Seeks God

ii) Satisfied by God

ii) Is sure of deliverance

3. The Song we can sing... a greater reason to sing it.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Praise Him, all creatures here below!

Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts!

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

"Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and your neighbour.

• Church Directory - If you're on our database, you'll have received the regular email linking to this service material, and in that email you would have noticed the link to an electronic version of our Church Directory. We were hoping to distribute the paper booklet version a few weeks back but restricted gatherings have made that a little hard. We're also conscious that trying to keep in touch without phone numbers or email addresses is a bit tough. Please use the details in the booklet to reach out to people you haven't seen in a while and haven't been able to call... If you're having trouble accessing the directory via that link please email info@mlpc.org.au and we'll sort something out.

• Monthly Prayer Meeting runs online via Zoom this afternoon at 4:30pm... Here's the link if you'd like to join us as we pray for our church and our community. Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/6168869958?pwd=dTNvM1Y0Y01mS0k1NlBndHA3YjNoUT09

If you want to join you'll need a password. Email us for it - info@mlpc.org.au

• Annual Congregational Meeting - this coming Tuesday night at 7:30pm on Zoom. The "Invite" is:

https://zoom.us/j/6168869958?pwd=dTNvM1Y0Y01mS0k1NlBndHA3YjNoUT09

If you want to join you'll need a password. Email us for it - info@mlpc.org.au

• Please consider giving to the Moderator General's Disaster Relief Appeal after Cyclone Harold badly affected Vanuatu a couple of weeks back now. A video produced by APWM is below. The appeal is directed to repairing Talua Bible College which the Presbyterian Church of Australia has supported for many years now. Talua is vital for resourcing the church in Vanuatu and other nearby countries. We may have experienced some adverse financial effects coming from COVID-19, however we still have the capacity to care for those who are in a far worse off situation to us. If you're able to contribute her are the details:

Direct Deposit

Bank: Westpac

Account Name: Australian Presbyterian World Mission

BSB: 032 260

Account Number: 151207

and mark your gift 'Harold'.

Please email finance@apwm.org.au so they can send a receipt.

Cheque

Please send cheques to

APWM National

1 Clarence St

Burwood NSW 2134

Catechism For Kids

This is a new resource Glen and Bethany have been putting together using the New City Catechism with the aim of encouraging kids and families to grow in their faith. Check out the intro video to hear more of the reasoning behind this resource. The plan is to release 2 short video clips a week for kids, going through the question and answers from the catechism.

If you have kids or even if you don't, why not learn the second question and answer together this coming week?

You can download the New City Catechism app to your phone or you could consider purchasing the book.