CMWDT Wellington : Encourager 106

( March 2005 )

First things first -

God

Prayer needs
	Lesley and Dot, the child and worker the branch supports in the Phillipines : Pray for freshness.   The committee of Wellington branch : For good health, freshness and vitality in this mission.   Thank God for camp and all that God placed in people's hearts and minds there.   The upcoming AGM : that God will appoint and anoint leadership in the branch. Pray for those considering these roles, that God will lead and guide them.

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News from earth :

Meetings
	NOVEMBER MEETING
		Our November meeting was held at Petone Baptist Church with guest speaker, Rachel O'Connor, from Youth for Christ. We commenced our meeting with worship and then followed with testimonies from a number of people who had attended the National CFFD camp at Matamata. It was a really great time of sharing of the camp and also the journey to and from camp. After a delicious meal of sausages, beans and chips we then enjoyed our guest, Rachel. We listened, watched a video and had some great discussions about YFC. Several people had had some contact with YFC in the past (some a long time ago). Ron Blackwood was one of those who shared about the spiritual importance it had been to him as a young apprentice. It was a real blessing to see that YFC has and continues to bless and influence young people. We also learned that YFC is undergoing a restructure with centralisation from the National Office. Their vision is to enable the regional offices to operate more smoothly and with an overall vision for Christ. Kay McCullum.
	FEBRUARY MEETING
		Rhonda Swenson presented a series of overheads of which this is one and told of her presentation at the Methodist conference in which the cross on the right (which Rhonda designed and made) also featured. Photo of the cross - click it for a larger version. Dave Lusk brought the gospel message for the month and gave us a good entertaining message for double the time we asked. Good on you, Dave! He concentrated on the fact that a relationship consists majorly of communication. Our communication with God can just consist of a shopping list, and we have to turn that around with praise being vital in the prayer equation. We are encouraged to give a sacrifice of praise to Jesus in Hebrews (ch 13) And the thing about sacrifice is that it costs us. In Philippians we are encouraged to rejoice in the Lord always. Dave went on to tell us of a recent story in his own life, where that idea came to the fore. He was having a particularly bad day at work where the phone wasn't ringing, and when you are a phone salesman those days really don't help. So instead of complaining he decided to say "Praise the Lord". And so his day continued, whatever happened Dave would say "Praise the Lord". It turned out that at his flat that very day, a fire had broken out in the adjoining flat. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and there was a little smoke damage to Dave's stuff but no real damage. You see, we never know what's going on in the big picture when you start praising God. An opportunity to flat in Newlands with those in his men's group has now eventuated. Ron Blackwood filled our afternoon with a thoughtful presentation on Psalm 40. He began by emphasising that God had filled David with His spirit with success in battle and in his duties as king of Israel. That same Spirit is a heart attitude that meant David was humble before his God and repentant when he needed to be. David recognized God's love for him. That same love and power is available to us today. David waited on God and God lifted him up. God in His grace encourages all of us to wait on Him in this psalm and see Him act. Up to the top
PHOTOGRAPHS from a recent meeting ( Click on any of the pictures to see it alone, perhaps rather bigger, but perhaps not. ) Up to the top

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