Talk 1 - Building Together (Core Value - Prayer)

0:00 · Speaker 1 I mentioned last week that as we begin these three weeks together, just at the beginning of a new season together, that we wanted that to be and have lots of conversations with different people as part of that. And over the next few weeks, I want to just chat with a couple of different people from different ministries. Of course, across the three weeks, we can't talk to everybody, but we wanted to just take that opportunity at the beginning of the year to hear from some different people. Now, you hear from Rebecca a good bit, but what we wanted to do this morning was just to talk a little bit about our kids ministry and hear from Rebecca at the beginning of the year, just all about that, and just to encourage you with all that's going on and some of the challenges that are faced as well. The first challenge Rebecca has that I've just realized is I brought these stools out, and obviously I've no problem getting my feet to the ground but Rebecca is in a slightly different situation. Maybe Jill when she comes up to speak later as well might have a similar problem but there is a little metal bit so we're okay. So Rebecca we haven't talked a lot about this. I don't really know what you're going to talk about but I basically said that I wanted you to come up today and just chat through.

1:09 · Speaker 1 Tell us a little bit about kids ministry. Tell us a couple of joys. Tell us a couple of challenges. Tell us a couple of hopes for the year and the years ahead that are in your heart as well. So let's begin with the so far. How long have you been?

1:25 · Speaker 2 I'm worried now he's starting to ask other questions. The only other times that Chris has interviewed me were for two different jobs, one in mostly primary school and one to come to Glennappy Church. So I'm worried there's an ulterior motive going on here. And just watch the space if you don't see me again too much.

1:39 · Speaker 1 100% so far.

1:40 · Speaker 2 So what was the question? Joyce. I've been here six years. I've been here six years and actually I was thinking what are the I was like, it sounds a wee bit naff to say this, and I hope I don't make people jealous, but my job really is a joy. I love it so much. It suits me well, but I don't know, there's just so much variety in it, and so many people to get to know. I love getting to know the children. Yes, on Friday past, I ended up, we were walking up to the library, and I met Kathy and Celine, and we were chatting, and that was good, and then we, Olivia Denison comes past, and she backtracked with her granda 'cause she had to come have a wee word for me.

2:19 · Speaker 2 And then the next thing, Tyler came flying past and, hi Tyler. And Kathy says, you're like a celebrity right here. Like, I do feel like a celebrity in panic. Now this is brilliant. I should hang out at time more often. But it's such a pleasure to get to know the kids from the youngest. Actually, I think I've got such a heart for the early years. And the more time I spend with the young children, I see how important it is making those like links with them, teaching them from when they're really young.

2:44 · Speaker 2 And it's not just me, it's all the leaders who are involved in that stage. You know, it's so precious. The children don't forget you. And that's a really lovely, joyful thing, you know. And actually, we're going to be talking about the year eights in a short while. And the year eights were in P2 when I started, you know. So there's a lot of change and development happens within kids ministry. And it's lovely.

3:04 · Speaker 2 It's a lovely thing. The other joy for me is getting to know leaders and parents within that. But we have such a range of people who serve in kids ministry from the older youth right through to pensioners. It's brilliant. Like, what a brilliant place to just form intergenerational relationships as people serve alongside each other and bring different skills and experience and competencies to the table with the kids. And actually, just so much warmth and love for the kids within the team. So those are real joys.

3:36 · Speaker 1 And that intergenerational thing, that theme, something that I think will come out across the three weeks that we're talking about how those how those relationships are and friendships and support are being formed so to be able to do that through serving in different teams in that way it's brilliant.

3:51 · Speaker 2 And I think that actually even for the youth who are in here you have no idea how much parents just love it when you take an interest in their small children or slightly older children or when there's another adult who'll speak to teenagers you know the parents are just like oh that's lovely like that's good you'll see something you know good in our children and and want to invest in them so that's um always worthwhile so i don't know i think sometimes we look at others and think they look a bit unapproachable but actually you know just get past the facade and and people want to be approached and want to be

4:21 · Speaker 1 known here you know so yeah keep doing that so we could we could probably talk about joys for a long time long time let's let's talk as well about maybe a couple of the challenges that accompany the joys in your role in kids ministry as a whole.

4:37 · Speaker 2 Yes. Well, I'm not out at the kids programs this morning, but actually at this time of year, honestly, my heart does a few flutters because I look at the number of children on our register and I think, where are we going to put all our one to five-year-olds? And don't mishear me because I want every one to five-year-old to be here who wants to be here. And there's no complaining leaders. They do things so graciously and accept whoever's here. It's church at the end of the day, so we make the best of what we have and the spaces that we have. But sometimes I think we could just do with stretching the walls out a wee bit, just to give us that wee bit more...

5:10 · Speaker 1 Well, all those people that just disappeared all have to go somewhere.

5:13 · Speaker 2 Well, I'm worried about all the nodding heads who are like, yeah, you don't want to go near Bible Tots this morning. No, but I don't know. It's not that it's always a problem. Actually, as I say, I worry about this every year. And generally throughout the year, it balances out and it's okay. We'll have the odd morning where there's maybe too many to make it feel very manageable. But yeah, we're definitely increasing. And so that's just one of the challenges.

5:37 · Speaker 2 It's an absolute joy, but it definitely comes with its challenges too. Thankfully, we have the personnel. It really is just the space. And it is really only at this service that it's an issue.

5:46 · Speaker 1 And any other thoughts on that?

5:49 · Speaker 2 I suppose I was thinking yes for two. Okay, if I have to be thinking. No, I was thinking just more generally for families or probably it's a general one for all of us. But at the start of a new term, you know, I love getting back into routine, but then there's also the slight dread of routine and all the sports and the music and, you know, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, that fills up our schedules. And I think there's always a challenge to remain faithful to our calling to love God, love other people, make disciples. And to think, how do we do this in our busy packed schedules? Do we need to step back from our busy packed schedules and decide are there things that need to go? Or is it just that a wee bit of screen time in the evening needs to go?

6:31 · Speaker 2 Or we need to set better limits on our phones? I don't know. I'm not being like, this is me I'm talking about as much as anybody else. But how do we continue to be faithful, to care for each other, to care about the church, to pray for each other, make time for God's kingdom? I suppose as much as our own little kingdoms and our families, you know.

6:51 · Speaker 1 And that maybe leads on then to, we're talking about challenges, into your hopes for, I don't know, the next year ahead, years ahead, whatever. As you think and sort of look ahead, are there things that you're hoping for and praying for?

7:04 · Speaker 2 Yeah, I think that Esther and I have always seen kids ministry as much as a family ministry is just about the kids. I never said at the start, but, you know, the fact that there's so many children here means that there's so many parents and grandparents and carers who want to bring their children here and know that this is an important part of their week and life in general. So thank you for that. But we want to be able to equip and support parents and grandparents, I suppose, as, you know, if we think about how do we, how does it change that we're Christians? You know, what difference does it make that we're Christians in the way we approach life? There's so many issues and Christians aren't immune to all the different issues that face parents in general. So we want to be able to think through those things, pray together. it's been brilliant Heather McCartney had been hosting a once a month prayer time and we would love to see more people coming along and not to bare your soul but just to be you know considering our children and our families and praying for that and as I said about the intergenerational thing actually at no point do I we say parents prayer time but it's more this works because parents are dropping off their children at seven o'clock if you are free at seven o'clock on a Friday evening on those nights and you want to come along and pray with parents please do that You know, we're in no way against that.

8:23 · Speaker 2 Yeah, so just feeding into that would be great. And a shameless call for help. We would love to get creche for babies up and running again at this service. I've had one person came the last time to me and said, yes, I could do that. Or actually a few people came and then I put them into other spaces in the creche that we have. But anyhow, we need eight people to get up and running. and that would be a lovely thing to do for the under ones. And the other thing is that on a Friday morning for the Mums Bible Study, it would be really, really great going forward.

8:59 · Speaker 2 That ministry is growing. It would be great to have somebody to look after, a couple of people to look after the toddlers here and there because it definitely is a hindrance for some people to feel like their toddler is the one that's making all the noise or whatever. It's not an issue for the rest of us, but it definitely puts some people off coming or experiencing kind of as much engagement as they would otherwise. So, again, I don't know who's free on a Friday morning from 10 till 11, but if that's you and you're thinking, oh, I should, yeah, maybe I could do that. We'll give you a cup of tea. It'll be lovely. But come and speak to me. And also about the whole facilitating, you know, in family life and all that.

9:36 · Speaker 2 If that's your bag and you're thinking, I would love to help facilitate that, come speak to me. You know, it's not a me and Esther kind of thing. You know, this is like, we need more hands and more heads thinking about this together.

9:49 · Speaker 1 So you mentioned praying together. That's the theme of this morning. What about, what are the sorts of things that you're praying for kids ministry, for our kids, for our parents, when you're sitting down and really thinking and, you know, asking God for help and all of this? What are the things that sort of, you know, are in your heart?

10:09 · Speaker 2 Well, I just want them to love being here and love God more. I want parents to feel confident in discipling their own children and I know that in our imperfections that's okay, there's a lot of grace for that and yeah there was, when we were at kids camp a couple of weekends ago I sent out a little prayer request into the the WhatsApp group or Jill did it for me but do you know it was such a joy to see all these hearts and prayer signs and think, look at all those people who are praying for us. So actually as much as we want our children to be engaged in spiritual thoughts and just growing to love the Bible and parents being engaged in that process too, the idea of us as a whole church family really getting behind that and praying for each other, we had a great weekend and I did actually think we just felt so prayed for. Sometimes when we're in the thick of things, and especially if you've got young children, Actually, my father-in-law said to me one day, you don't have a lot of time for praying right now, so we're praying for you. And actually, that was the loveliest thing to hear, you know, because when you're exhausted and everything else, you just need to know somebody else has got you and it's holding you up in that way. So I don't know if that answers the question very well.

11:30 · Speaker 1 No, it does. It does. Listen, we could talk for far longer. We don't have the time. As I was sitting and reflecting and just getting ready for this morning, I was praying. You know, my heart was genuinely so full of gratitude for the people that we have serving here, for our staff team, for Rebecca, for Esther and kids, for all of the rest of the staff. I'm not going to name them all. For the gifts that they have, for the abilities God's given them, but more than that, for their heart for God and their heart for God's people and just their character.

12:03 · Speaker 1 So I am so grateful at the beginning of the year that we have the team that we have and we're moving forward together in that way. As Gar said at the beginning of the service, it is now September and September might mean different things to different people. For some of you, it might be a wonderful thing. I would imagine if you have children who are now back at school and you have a certain amount of hours reclaimed in your day that you might be quite happy that it's September. But if you are one of those ones at high school maybe and you spent the last few days in those form classes before timetable starts long, interminable days, you are wishing that it was the beginning of July again. And I would say, as Garth mentioned as well about teachers, if you're a teacher who has children at school, I would imagine you're probably picking yourself up off the floor already, and it's only the beginning of September. But of course, beginning of September is probably more than the beginning of January, a time of newness, a new season, a new year. And that's the same with us here in Glen Abbey.

13:08 · Speaker 1 And like I said earlier, over the next three weeks, as we begin this season together, I just want to take some time, with the help of others as we've already had, to share with you the elders' prayers and priorities for both the year ahead and the years ahead. If you were here this time last year, you'll remember that at this time we embarked on a week that we called Preparing the Ground. We felt that this season of prayer and reflection and conversation and getting input and then seeking God's will together for how he wanted us to build the next stage of Glen Abbey was really crucial, really crucial given a number of factors, especially as we finally moved away from all the COVID stuff, which took quite a while. And then also because during that time, our eldership team changed quite a bit in a relatively short space of time. And that team needed time. They needed time to think together and pray together and find unity together as to the steps forward as we sought God's will in that way. And we've done that over the last year. We've prayed.

14:22 · Speaker 1 We've talked a lot. We've talked a lot to our ministry leaders and our ministries. We've sought wise counsel. We've prayed more. And we do genuinely thank God that he has given us a real sense of unity as we've talked these things through and prayed these things through, as we seek to build further on all the wonderful, amazing, spirit-empowered building that God in his grace has enabled in this, his church, over the last 36 years of its life. And so over these next three weeks, we want to share with you really just our priorities, our thoughts about the future for building this church as we move towards the church's middle age, as we move towards the church's 40th birthday in 2028. So this week, we're focusing on that concept of building together and how we want to grow together in prayer. Next week, we'll focus on building up.

15:21 · Speaker 1 and that's all about our spiritual maturity and our spiritual growth. And then in the third week, we'll talk about building gospel bridges. Our calling is the church to witness and to share the gospel, to share Jesus, to share the grace and the hope that is ours with other people who don't have that person of Jesus in their life as yet. And because we have a finite amount of time, very finite, and we want this sharing with you to include different people. As I said, I'm going to stray from the normal over the next couple of weeks. From the 22nd of September, as Garth said, we're going to be in Ephesians and the teaching will be normal. We'll be working our way through the letter as we often and always do. But we've chosen that letter because it just expands and talks into so much of what we're going to be talking about over the next three weeks.

16:13 · Speaker 1 As you'll have seen, everything with any verses that we've mentioned so far have come from there. So for today and the next two weeks, I'm going to combine a slightly shorter biblical focus, and then I'm going to talk to somebody. And I'm going to, after we've talked a little bit about prayer, I'm going to spend 10, 15 minutes or so just talking with Jill Campbell at the end, and just to earth some of this together. So let's get going. As we begin with our deep desire and our deep stirring to prioritize and grow ourselves as a praying church, to put it even more at the center of who we are and what we do. I want to turn again to Ephesians and to chapter 3 and verses 14 to 21. Now, God willing, I will be teaching on this exact same passage again in November when we get there in our Tide series. So if you feel in any way shortchanged this morning by what I say, which I hope you will a little, then you can look forward to that again in November.

17:14 · Speaker 1 But the reason we're turning to this prayer now, this prayer of Paul's, is that it has remained at the very heart of our prayers together as a leadership team. It's become, I would say, something of a motif over the last 12 months. And it's a prayer that we as a team, I feel, have been really built together upon in that time. And so it's a prayer then that we want to invite you in to be built on that with us, if that makes sense. and it's a prayer that apart from an interruption in Paul's thought flow it follows directly on from where we began our service this morning with those amazing verses that I read at the beginning you are no longer foreigners and strangers but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. It's such beautiful imagery. And in him, you two are being built together to become a dwelling, to become a tabernacle in which God lives, in which he dwells by his spirit.

18:33 · Speaker 1 God's plans and purposes for his church, for us are that we as living stones to borrow a term that Peter uses, that we would be growing together, knitting together, uniting together as his dwelling place, becoming more fitting for God to dwell in. And Paul goes on into the beginning of chapter three, just after those verses. And he says, for this reason, and then he gets totally sidetracked for a couple of paragraphs because he's just so excited. And then he comes back in verse 14 of reminds himself where he was and says again, for this reason, and he goes on and he says this. This is where we're focused. I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

19:32 · Speaker 1 Do you see the Trinity at work here? And I pray that you being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. And to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. These are words that sing. They sing.

20:18 · Speaker 1 They just come off the page. They are stunning. And like I said, I'll teach from this passage much more fully in November, but for the purposes of this morning, I can only just pick out a couple of brief points for us to consider. I want you to really think these through and pray these through in the week ahead. And then I'll have a bit of a conversation with Jill. The first point is this. Getting down on his knees and praying to the Father is not Paul's last resort. It is Paul's first response.

20:53 · Speaker 1 It is almost like a reflex. As soon as he thinks about these things, as soon as he thinks about the church, he is driven to his knees. He's not describing here one prayer that he's prayed. He's describing how he always prays when he thinks about the church for this reason. He says because he's thinking God's plan for us, his church is so magnificent, is so awesome, is so huge. And we, let's be honest, are so weak and so sinful and so self-absorbed and so empty. I kneel, he says before the Father. Paul's completely honest about the chasm he sees between God's purposes for us as his church and our ability and our own strength to fulfill any of those purposes.

21:41 · Speaker 1 And so his first response is to get on his knees, displaying utter dependence and pray to his Father. And this is our prayer. And this has been our prayer and our desire for us as Glen Abbey that more and more and more, We as his people will develop this reflex response of Paul's to get on our knees and pray as our first response, not as our last resort. And not just formally. That's not what I'm talking about here. It's part of what I'm talking about. But it's probably not at the heart of what I'm talking about. Because I think in a lot of ways we can be quite good at that.

22:21 · Speaker 1 We're probably pretty good at opening a meeting or a gathering together with prayer or praying before services like this, like we did at a quarter past nine this morning. And all of that is crucial and it's so important and it's so vital. But, and this is right at the heart of how we want to see this change and grow here. We want this to be more and more our first response in the informal. We want this to be our first response in the ordinary. We want it to be ordinary wherever and whenever we are living stones being built together, wherever and whenever we are church. So let me give you a couple of examples of that. We want that to be the sort of praying, this sort of praying to be the first response when we meet one another for a coffee and one person shares a real struggle they're having at work.

23:18 · Speaker 1 We want this to be the first response. We want it to be the first response when we're having dinner together and someone shares their desperation over their teenager that's gone down a path that they just couldn't have imagined a year ago, six months ago, whatever. We want it to be the first response there. We want it to be the first response here after a service when we're standing around chatting and someone shares, I don't know, their ongoing grief. And their inability to move on because of the loss of a loved one. At the heart of it. We want to be a church that is growing away from saying. I'll be praying for you in that.

24:04 · Speaker 1 To actually saying. Let's stop and pray about that. Right here. Right now. First response. Let's stop and ask our father to give us what we need through his spirit. Let's pray about this. Let's, like Paul models here, honestly, humbly, persistently, go to our Father with our hands outstretched as he does here and call out to him to give us what we need.

24:32 · Speaker 1 And it's clear from this prayer of Paul's what we need to ask for. He prays for the supernatural, transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In our church, we've just sung about it. It's the same power that raised Christ from the dead. It's the same power that is available to us through his spirit. It's his spirit and his spirit alone that empowers and transforms his living stones as he builds us together to become his holy temple, his dwelling place. Paul gets on his knees and prays that the Father, out of the fullness of his glorious riches, that he would, through his spirit, pour out the power and the love and the fullness that we need, that they need to be his people. And that's what we want to do too.

25:22 · Speaker 1 Pray that same prayer to be his living stones, to be his church, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith in greater degrees than before. And we as elders, we want this. We want this to be a church that is growing to be as openly desperate for the transforming power of the Spirit as Paul is here as he speaks. We don't want prayer. We don't want this sort of praying to be some sort of optional bonus that comes after our own skills or our own abilities or our own intellect. We don't want to be whatever we say and whatever we believe. We don't want to be functional cessationists. we want more and more for this sort of posture and this sort of prayer and this sort of praying to be at the very heart at the very core of who we are and we want to follow paul's example too in the way he prays this prayer and garth prayed this at the beginning of our service with such trust and expectancy to that father who loves to give his children good gifts who is just waiting for us to ask,

26:40 · Speaker 1 who out of his inexhaustible, glorious riches, out of his fullness of power and love, is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine in and through us, his church, according to his power that is at work within us. We want to be more and more a church praying with faith and praying with anticipation that what he can do is far beyond the scope and the realms of our vision and our imagination. Praying and praying and praying more, and in all sorts of circumstances for the immeasurably more of the Spirit's work. It's those words, immeasurably more, like I said, that have sat at the heart of our posture and prayers as elders over the last number of months. And we want that to spill out across the whole body. So let me just sum up before Jill joins me, I've run out of time. Our prayer as elders is that this sort of posture, that this sort of prayer sits at the heart, sits at the foundation of who we are as God's church, sits at the heart of how we relate to him, sits at the heart of how we relate to one another as he builds us together, as he knits us together, as he unites us together. And yes, we want that to be the case in organized times of prayer and services.

28:09 · Speaker 1 Absolutely, we do. I love nothing more than the 7 a.m. prayer times where I hear other people pray these sorts of prayers. But as I said, we want this more to be at the heart of the ordinary as well as the organized. We desire to see this posture, this dependency, this humility, this expectancy, this genuine crying out to the Father that he would pour out the power of his Spirit so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith to be more and more, like I said, a common reflex in our normal conversation, in our friendships, in our families, in our many communities, wherever they are in our whole church. And in the months and in the years ahead, we want as elders to be examples of that to you. And we know we've got a long way to go here as well.

29:03 · Speaker 1 We want to encourage you. We want to equip you. We want to give you opportunities to grow and learn and experience from others in this area and to make this more normal. This doesn't happen overnight. But you should, from us, expect to see this emphasis in all sorts of different ways. And if you don't, come and ask us why. But for now, can I encourage you, as I did before, to just spend time in this prayer this week, to read it, to meditate on it, to pray about it, and to actually pray it as well. And as you do, because each one of you here are one of Glen Abbey's living stones, can I ask you to think through these questions?

29:55 · Speaker 1 And let me be really clear here as I ask them. I ask them of myself just as much as I ask them of you. I am humbled and challenged by them myself just as much as I will imagine you will be as well. And there's lots that I have to think through and pray through and work here too. And I'm sure Jill will say something similar as well. But here's a couple of questions just to go away with today and to think through and pray through. How frequently do I pray with other people outside of organized prayer gatherings? How much is prayer part of the thread of my life with other people?

30:33 · Speaker 1 In friendships, in families, in marriage, out for a walk, out for a coffee in each other's homes. services here on a Sunday? Just reflect on that. Second, how central is this sort of prayer of dependency and expectancy in my life and in my relationships with other people? How central is that sort of praying? Thirdly then, in what particular areas of my life would I love to be praying like this with others. Maybe you're great in organized prayer times, but that's the only time you ever pray with other people. Because actually they're easiest, because somebody leads that.

31:18 · Speaker 1 You don't have to make decisions about it. You don't have to talk to other people about it. And that for me is one of the biggest challenges, that question. And then finally, what one small step can I take as a living stone between now and Christmas to move in the right direction in following Paul's example? Some questions to go away with. Jill, I'm going to invite you up. I'm going to move this out of the way and we're going to bring back the stools that are too big for you and Rebecca and we'll have a little bit of a conversation. I pray.

32:04 · Speaker 1 Oh, making a lot of noise across there. Right, Jill, thank you so much for joining me. I know this isn't your favorite place to be. But why don't you just, for people who maybe don't know you, maybe just introduce yourself to everybody.

32:19 · Speaker 3 Okay, yes, I have a mic that works. I need another set of hands here. You do. I need a drink. Yes, my name is Jill. I am married to the lovely Phil. And we met whenever we were working together in a company called Cornhill. And believe it or not, there is actually a poem written about it, if you're that interested.

32:43 · Speaker 3 Phil and I have two young adult children, Peter and Alice. And I have inherited this year a lovely daughter-in-law called Sam. I've been at Glen Abbey for almost 30 years. I was a Brethren girl who married a Presbyterian boy. Not that there's anything wrong with either of those denominations, but when he said, "I'm not going to the Brethren," I very maturely said, "Well, I'm not going to the Presbyterian." So we don't know how much prayer was involved in that as immature 25-year-olds, but we moved to Carrick And we decided to search for a church and we visited Glen Abbey and we never went anywhere else. So throughout my years at Glen Abbey, I first of all served in youth and then in creche and then in mops. And then for the last 17 years have been a home group leader.

33:38 · Speaker 3 And somewhere in the midst of all that, I was asked two years ago to come on staff for church as a pastoral worker, commonly known as Davy Meyer's wingwoman.

33:49 · Speaker 1 Brilliant. And yep, that's something that I prayed about for years. And I am, again, a bit like Rebecca, absolutely delighted with the outcome of that prayer and the last two years, even though my wife actually last week asked you when you were starting back at school and forgot. Yeah, so it takes a wee while to recognize that she is.

34:09 · Speaker 3 Is that because she thinks I'm so young and I'm still going to school?

34:12 · Speaker 1 I think her head was just so fully in school that she couldn't see past that. So we've talked a lot. Part of your role is obviously pastoral, but part of your role is prayer as well. And you and I and others have talked a lot about this. David's talked a lot about this sort of stuff with us. And prayer is a big part of what you do and what you think about. And you've certainly really impacted my thinking around this whole area over the last couple of years. So maybe just picking up on some of the things that I talked about there.

34:44 · Speaker 1 Is there anything in particular there that resonates with you? That's one part of the question, I suppose. and the other part as well. As you look ahead, I asked Rebecca a similar sort of question. As you look ahead and you think about this sort of area and what I've just talked about, what's your sort of, what do you see in the future? What are you praying for God to bring about here in this sort of area?

35:07 · Speaker 3 Okay, I'll maybe answer those questions both thrown in together. Go for it. Because you've skipped questions out and I've lost my notes now and I just dropped them.

35:17 · Speaker 1 I meant to do that.

35:18 · Speaker 3 We're going rogue.

35:19 · Speaker 1 I'll keep you around.

35:19 · Speaker 3 Very much, yes, what resonated with me from what you were saying. Well, first way through, I was too nervous to actually listen to what you were saying. But I do have an idea. And it's very much that spirit who lives in us. I read a thing this week that said something along the lines of, Whenever we pray, do we actually really always acknowledge that we are speaking to the Lord and the creator of everything? Philip and I walked the beach last night and it was the most spectacular sunset. And you look at creation and you see the God of creation and you think this is who we talk to whenever we pray. And we bring our many requests, and you, like me, will have known that there are some prayers that are answered.

36:13 · Speaker 3 There are some prayers that have not been answered yet. It's very easy to become disillusioned. Yeah, yeah, I prayed about that. Didn't work, you know. Prayer works. The Bible, what it says in the Bible is true. And very often the answer to our requests isn't as amazing as the fact that we have access. We have access to God, and that's who we get to bring our prayers to.

36:38 · Speaker 3 So moving into, you know, where we are in church and what we do with that here, you will know we have opened a prayer room. It's a beautiful wee facility, really, really lovely. And we've changed it. We're learning as we go along. You know, we've made it. We had it at the front of church, and people were like, I'm not going to the front of church for prayer. We moved it to the back of church. people think, why does it have to be hidden?

37:04 · Speaker 3 You know, why do you have to go to the back of the church? Why does there have to be a prayer room for people to go for prayer? But I suppose then, you know, there are people who need that moment's privacy and there are people who need to come away and be separate. And going forward, we will look at other ways to use the prayer room. But I suppose the other side of it is also, this is a church. You know, why are we so afraid to ask for prayer or to say that we admit prayer? You know, who amongst us thinks we are the polished, finished item? We all need prayer.

37:41 · Speaker 3 And whenever the prayer team is at the front of the church, I went for prayer. Because do you know what? I'm needy. I need that power that Chris was talking about today. That power that we read about in Ephesians. That power that I spoke about there. we have access to the God of all creation. And we need to open that power in each other's lives.

38:03 · Speaker 3 We get to, you know, over the time as we've been developing this, I've been exploring that people do actually also say, you know, we pray in home group, or I have my people, you know, I'm okay. But there's something beautiful about and humbling about opening yourself up for prayer to somebody sitting next to you. And that's what I was going to say. We've amended the prayer announcement from please feel free to go for prayer. And please do feel free to go for prayer. But first and foremost, perhaps pray with somebody who you're chatting to. And just as an aside to that, sorry, I'm going to ramble on. As an aside to that, we have a prayer team.

38:41 · Speaker 3 We have a fantastic prayer team of 30 odd people who are willing and ready to pray for you on a Sunday morning. We also have a prayer WhatsApp of about 80 people who are happy to pray through requests that you want to submit to David or to me or to the elders. We've also got a team of pastoral workers. And over the last year, we've been encouraging our prayer team and our pastoral workers. On a Sunday morning, this is one of, you didn't ask me about the joys. One of the huge joys I have found and a challenge of being in this role is it has lifted my eyes. And my eyes needed lifted because I used to come to church on a Sunday morning and sit in a seat. And Hazel Jackson's at the back there.

39:21 · Speaker 3 They mocked me incessantly. I didn't move from that seat until they were locking the doors. I sat and chatted to whoever was next to me, usually somebody I was comfortable sitting down with. And I didn't move. Being part of this job has lifted my eyes. Stand up. Have a look about our church. See people who are on their own.

39:42 · Speaker 3 See people who you haven't chatted to in a while. See people who might be new, might be visiting. And we challenged our prayer team and our prayer workers with three things. We are family, so we have to be family to other people and to each other. So see ourselves as family. Find out somebody's name. God knows your name. So find out somebody's name here this morning, every Sunday morning that you come.

40:08 · Speaker 3 Find out somebody's name. And God knows seemingly insignificant details about each one of us, like the numbers of hairs on our head. So take the time and find out a detail about somebody else's life, because that's where it starts. If we're going to pray for each other, we need to know each other. And so just having our awareness raised, it's also that knowledge of not everybody wants to be prayed with, you know, and so you need to be sensitive in this whole area as well. But it's that raising your awareness that we're here and prayer is powerful and we're all needy. I'm needy. And it's a beautiful thing to have somebody pray over you and pray with you.

41:01 · Speaker 3 And it's a beautiful thing to pray for others as well.

41:04 · Speaker 1 Okay, so let me extend that sort of question out then. I asked you about what sort of things would you love to see here? So in your imagination, which God can go way beyond, as we just talked about, look four years down the line, how would you like to see things in that area be different here? What sort of things would you like to see happening and going on? Is that a question that you think you can answer?

41:24 · Speaker 3 Okay. Yes, very much that, you know, spontaneous people just chatting to each other on a Sunday morning and then taking time to pray, you know, and the good things and the bad things. You know, I have a job interview this week. Oh, just let me pray for you. It can take 10 seconds.

41:38 · Speaker 1 I thought you were looking for another job next, Panagon. That's okay, good to know. I would definitely be asking for prayer after that.

41:46 · Speaker 3 So it can be the big things. It can be the small things, but it's just entering into each other's lives. You know, my kids aren't sleeping at night. You know, I'm at the end of myself. Gosh, let's just bring God's power into that now. It's a beautiful thing. As regards to prayer room, currently used on a Sunday morning, currently also used by me on a Tuesday to find a quiet space. It's a beautiful space to come and sit.

42:13 · Speaker 3 And going forward, I think we would like to explore the opportunity to maybe open, we haven't got a name for it yet, but open the prayer night at certain times throughout the week, mornings, afternoons, evenings, for people to come and be prayed with. It would also be lovely to open the prayer room for the, for example, on a Tuesday, there's staff here all day. So church is open all day. If it's a quiet space where you just want to come and sit and just be, it could be beautiful for that. So yeah, we look forward to seeing the prayer room used in all sorts of ways.

42:49 · Speaker 1 It is a great space. I start here earlier most days than most people. And that's usually where you'll find me actually now in that early part of the morning. So it is a great space. Yeah, so lots to think about. And I agree with you in terms of, as we look to the future, to see this place just, you know, praying really being as ordinary as talking to one another is really the direction of travel that is in my heart. And that here, yes, but also in all of our, as I've already said, in all of our interactions during the week. It's quite clear as I reflect on that that I'm nowhere near that yet.

43:24 · Speaker 1 And I think it's really important to say I was reflecting a little bit on me saying something similar at the front a few months back and then being out in the foyer. And Robert and Liz Mullen, I don't know if Robert and Liz are here today, but they came up and said, you asked us to pray and we want to pray for you now. And I said, oh, I didn't mean me. I didn't mean me. But it took me a little minute to sort of go, okay, it's okay to show that I need prayer. It's okay to ask for prayer. It's okay to invite that. And what a wonderful experience it was to just stand there in the foyer and be prayed for in that way.

43:59 · Speaker 1 But it made me realize that it's not a natural thing at all yet for me. And I think it's important. You're probably, as we sit up here and tell people what our hopes and our prayers are, to say that they are genuine, our hopes and our prayers for ourselves as well. Anything you want to say to that?

44:16 · Speaker 3 It is definitely a learning curve. I helped take a prayer training event for our prayer team where we were trying to encourage people to spontaneously pray with people on the spot. And leaving that, going home that night, one of the ladies on the prayer team stopped me to talk about a medical appointment that she had that week and how anxious she was. And what did I say? Och, I'll be praying for you. And it wasn't only until I got out into the car. It was like, why did I not pray with her? Like, here I was actually talking to people about being spontaneous and praying.

44:51 · Speaker 3 But, you know, the thing was, on the way home in the car, I thought about it. Whereas prior to that, it might not have even been on my radar. So, yes, it's raising that awareness.

45:00 · Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah.

45:01 · Speaker 3 And also, actually, I had the privilege one time of sitting amongst friends, talking about our kids, talking about some heavy things. And she just turned at the end of the evening and said, look, we've talked about some heavy things here. Could we just pray about that now? That was strange, but it was really nice.

45:18 · Speaker 1 Yeah. Well, that captures, if we go away, and that captures the sort of direction that we're so keen to go in, I hope that does do that. We could talk for far longer. We maybe will again at some point. Not up here, don't worry. I won't ask you again for a while, apart from until second service. But yes, we'll certainly talk more about this stuff. We will as well.

45:39 · Speaker 1 One thing that we are going to do, we've asked you to ponder some of those questions. And part of that is that we will record a podcast or two with some of the other elders, and I will actually ask them those questions as well. Give them a little bit of time to reflect on that. I won't do that straight away. But just so that, again, we can just share some of our heart and some of our thinking with you a little bit more. We have run out of time for now, but can I invite the band back up? Jill, you can step down. That's no problem at all.

46:09 · Speaker 1 Thank you so much. Can we show our appreciation for Jill, please? Thank you. let's just let's pray together just before we close and close our service father we we are amazed when we contemplate this truth that we have been thinking about that the power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power given to us, available to us through your spirit as your church. Father, we pray that you will lead us and you will guide us as we take steps to just grow in dependency, to grow in humility, to grow in expectancy, to be asking you, Father, constantly and persistently for more of your Spirit's power in us so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith so that we might love more and better so that we might know and understand your love for us more and better.

47:24 · Speaker 1 You have, as we're about to sing now in the song that we close with, you have already given us immeasurably more than all we could ever ask or imagine and yet you want to give us more and more and more. And so we look forward to that as your church with expectancy. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.