Together Togather - Carly Cassidy

[SPEAKER_04]: We gather in every season of life, to mark what matters most.

[SPEAKER_01]: Because what truly matters is really done alone.

[SPEAKER_00]: God designed us for communion with Him, with each other, and with His mission.

[SPEAKER_02]: This year's mission month theme says it perfectly, together together.

[SPEAKER_05]: Mission is not a solo task.

[SPEAKER_05]: It's a shared calling.

[SPEAKER_05]: In Acts, we see the diverse church.

[SPEAKER_05]: He nighted by one spirit, one mission in one Gospel.

[SPEAKER_07]: The kingdom advances through the gather church.

[SPEAKER_07]: Called by Jesus, sent by Jesus, and working together.

[SPEAKER_03]: Well, good morning, how are we?

[SPEAKER_03]: I'm just a little bit excited.

[SPEAKER_03]: Mission's month is my favorite month of the year.

[SPEAKER_03]: And I just cannot wait to share some stories with you.

[SPEAKER_03]: My name is Carly Cassidy, and I have the joy of being the mission's pastor here.

[SPEAKER_03]: At one, and I cannot wait to talk about some of the things that our partners have been doing.

[SPEAKER_03]: through your partnership and your generosity.

[SPEAKER_03]: So thank you so much for your support over all of the years.

[SPEAKER_03]: And I just encourage you to pray over this month to see how we can all be involved.

[SPEAKER_03]: Well, what a journey we have been on.

[SPEAKER_03]: I have loved this series on X.

[SPEAKER_03]: And how good has it been?

[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you to the Ministry team for teaching us and for helping us to dig deeper.

[SPEAKER_03]: into that rich content found in acts.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's been incredible.

[SPEAKER_03]: And I have learned so so much, truly.

[SPEAKER_03]: But perhaps the most recent thing that I have learned is the importance of an opening statement.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so I thought I would start by reminding of just how incredible the early church in acts was.

[SPEAKER_03]: They were literally all in one accord, which is pretty impressive because I don't know how they fit that many people into one honder.

[SPEAKER_03]: Sorry.

[SPEAKER_03]: That was for you, Jess.

[SPEAKER_03]: I promise I'll keep it short so that we can head out and grab a coffee.

[SPEAKER_03]: Definitely shorter than one of Stevens or Paul's.

[SPEAKER_03]: I do love how we gather around coffee, how we gather around meals.

[SPEAKER_03]: I love the cafe culture.

[SPEAKER_03]: here in Melbourne.

[SPEAKER_03]: It brings people together.

[SPEAKER_03]: And there are certain moments in life where we do naturally gather together.

[SPEAKER_03]: We gather around celebrations and we gather around grief.

[SPEAKER_03]: We gather around purpose that we have in common.

[SPEAKER_03]: We gather around meals and milestones.

[SPEAKER_03]: And when there is something that truly matters, we very rarely do it alone.

[SPEAKER_03]: Think about the biggest moments in our lives.

[SPEAKER_03]: People gather, and there is something deeply biblical about that, because right from the very beginning, God never intended us to live isolated lives.

[SPEAKER_03]: He created us for communion.

[SPEAKER_03]: Communion with him, communion with one another, and communion with his mission.

[SPEAKER_03]: And this year's mission's month captures both sides of that calling, together, together.

[SPEAKER_03]: We gather together as the church so that more people may be gathered into the kingdom of God.

[SPEAKER_03]: And I can't take credit for this because this is past a choice choosing he chose the theme for our mission's month.

[SPEAKER_03]: It will be such a pleasure for us this month as we have invited Pastor Troy and Pastor Anna Alma to come across from the Philippines to share some stories with us in person and also the honey buns.

[SPEAKER_03]: So we are very spoiled this month to have our partners come visit.

[SPEAKER_03]: We live in an individualistic world with personal goals and a personal faith.

[SPEAKER_03]: and a personal calling.

[SPEAKER_03]: But the kingdom of God has never been built on individualism.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's been built on community.

[SPEAKER_03]: And mission is communal.

[SPEAKER_03]: We do it together.

[SPEAKER_03]: The church is strongest when we united.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so this month, we're going to explore what it means to work together as one body to share the good news of Jesus.

[SPEAKER_03]: Because it's not meant to be done alone.

[SPEAKER_03]: And it's the calling of the whole church.

[SPEAKER_03]: When we pray together, serve together,

[SPEAKER_03]: the gospel is proclaimed with greater boldness, and we've learned about that boldness in act.

[SPEAKER_03]: And it's my favorite month of the year as well.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so we're going to share some stories from our partners, both local and global stories of hope and how one church is actively helping to bring his scriptures alive.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so,

[SPEAKER_03]: to continue on with that theme of Acts.

[SPEAKER_03]: So now I've chosen a couple of my favorite passages that we've been looking at.

[SPEAKER_03]: I wanted to choose so many, it's also good, but I've just chosen a couple, so we'll start with this powerful introduction in Acts 1, 8.

[SPEAKER_03]: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.

[SPEAKER_03]: And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

[SPEAKER_03]: Jesus is speaking to His disciples just before the His ascension, and the disciples are wondering about restoring Israel politically, but Jesus then redirects them towards God's global mission.

[SPEAKER_03]: And it begins with the Holy Spirit.

[SPEAKER_03]: The mission of God is not powered by human effort alone, and the church doesn't just manufacture mission.

[SPEAKER_03]: It participates in what

[SPEAKER_03]: And I love that the you in this is plural.

[SPEAKER_03]: Jesus is speaking to a whole community of believers, not just individuals.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's communal right from the very beginning.

[SPEAKER_03]: And He's talking about these expanding circles of mission.

[SPEAKER_03]: So Jerusalem is the local.

[SPEAKER_03]: Today and Samaria is the nearby and cross cultural and then to the ends of the earth.

[SPEAKER_03]: That's the global mission.

[SPEAKER_03]: Axe follows that structure and we do as well through our one care.

[SPEAKER_03]: We're so grateful for all of our partnerships, local, national and international.

[SPEAKER_03]: And he's a bit of a list of some of our partners and you can find this list outside at the window display if you would like to take one home and there's also a prayer calendar there for the month of missions month if you'd like to be praying for all of our partners.

[SPEAKER_03]: So Jesus doesn't say, just do some witnessing over here.

[SPEAKER_03]: He says, you will be my witnesses.

[SPEAKER_03]: The church, mission is who the church is.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's at the core of who we are as disciples of Christ, and together we're invited to participate in what the Spirit is already doing.

[SPEAKER_03]: And then that invitation leads to something pretty amazing.

[SPEAKER_03]: As Tim said, we move from learner bystanders

[SPEAKER_03]: And I love that.

[SPEAKER_03]: By the same spirit, every believer has a part, we are all called.

[SPEAKER_03]: Acts 2, 42 to 47.

[SPEAKER_03]: They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

[SPEAKER_03]: Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

[SPEAKER_03]: All the believers were together and had everything in common.

[SPEAKER_03]: They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had a need.

[SPEAKER_03]: Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

[SPEAKER_03]: They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

[SPEAKER_03]: And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

[SPEAKER_03]: This comes immediately after Pentecost in the coming of the Holy Spirit, and this is why I'm so excited that we're launching missions month today, the week after Pentecost Sunday, I mean talk about time, it's perfect.

[SPEAKER_03]: And I love that God's mission flows out of community.

[SPEAKER_03]: before that detonation button was pressed before that explosive growth came deep fellowship.

[SPEAKER_03]: And we looked at this a little bit last year with their theme for missions month, when we had the table with the theme, God's desire to be in communion with His people.

[SPEAKER_03]: We looked at Luke 24, verses 132, where we read about a powerful moment of revelation, when the risen Jesus was breaking bread with his disciples and their eyes were opened and their hearts burned and they could not stay seated at the table.

[SPEAKER_03]: The witness of the church was connected to how they lived together.

[SPEAKER_03]: The early believers devoted themselves to fellowship together, breaking the bread together and praying together.

[SPEAKER_03]: And mission was then sustained through those shared spiritual rhythms.

[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you for your support of this spiritual rhythms and the mission rhythms of our church.

[SPEAKER_03]: Your support of the feed, the kids' campaigns, our babes' project appears, our winter warmers, our food pantry, oh, and if I don't mention the food pantry, Warren will tell me off, please continue to support the food pantry.

[SPEAKER_03]: That is a consistent rhythm of our church.

[SPEAKER_03]: We have had such an increase coming to the food pantry.

[SPEAKER_03]: The need is growing, and so.

[SPEAKER_03]: Perhaps when you're doing your weekly shopping, just add an extra item into your cart and donate it to the food pantry.

[SPEAKER_03]: Our exposure trips, and of course our mission's month appeal, we are a deeply missional community and we're grateful for your generosity and partnership.

[SPEAKER_03]: And that's reflecting the radical generosity that we saw in Acts.

[SPEAKER_03]: that passage in Acts shows how the early church was radically generous.

[SPEAKER_03]: They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had a need.

[SPEAKER_03]: So mission was not merely words.

[SPEAKER_03]: Their communal care reflected the kingdom of God.

[SPEAKER_03]: Their lives became an everyday witness.

[SPEAKER_03]: And it was evidence that God will bring the growth in verse 47 and the Lord added to their number daily.

[SPEAKER_03]: When the church creates faithful community,

[SPEAKER_03]: God creates growth.

[SPEAKER_03]: People are drawn to authentic community and it's not just about projects or programs, it's just that shared life together.

[SPEAKER_03]: Acts 4, verse 32 to 35.

Acts 4:32–35

[SPEAKER_03]: All of the believers were one in heart and mind.

[SPEAKER_03]: No one claimed that any of their possessions were their own, but they shared everything they had.

[SPEAKER_03]: With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of Lord Jesus.

[SPEAKER_03]: And God's grace was so powerfully at work in all of them.

[SPEAKER_03]: There were no needy persons among them.

[SPEAKER_03]: For from time to time, those who owned land or houses sold them brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet.

[SPEAKER_03]: And it was distributed to anyone who had a need.

[SPEAKER_03]: So this happens just after the persecution begins.

[SPEAKER_03]: And rather than retreating, the believers become even more united and we've learned that they asked for boldness when it started to get tough.

[SPEAKER_03]: They didn't back away.

[SPEAKER_03]: And this spiritual unity was their witness.

[SPEAKER_03]: I love that in verse 32, no one claimed that any of their possessions were their own.

[SPEAKER_03]: It wasn't for us that was their willing kingdom generosity.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's a powerful

[SPEAKER_03]: and then the needs were met.

[SPEAKER_03]: There were no needy people among them.

[SPEAKER_03]: So mission and generosity are deeply connected and the United Church becomes a powerful witness.

[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you so much for praying over what you might be able to contribute.

[SPEAKER_03]: This mission is appeal.

[SPEAKER_03]: We're so grateful for your generosity because you are playing a part in helping those that we are sharing our resources with.

[SPEAKER_03]: Those that we are united with

[SPEAKER_03]: and these are some of our beautiful partners that we are connecting with.

[SPEAKER_03]: But today, I'd like to share a little bit more about Indonesia.

[SPEAKER_03]: I feel like you know a little bit about the Philippines.

[SPEAKER_03]: You know the beautiful honey buns in their story in Cambodia.

[SPEAKER_03]: But do you know what our partners are doing in Indonesia?

[SPEAKER_03]: We partner with two viable colleges and they're the Church of Christ's Bible Colleges,

[SPEAKER_03]: and CCTSI in Salatiga.

[SPEAKER_03]: And our support goes through global mission partners, which is the denominational mission arm of churches of Christ, and we've been supporting them for many, many years now.

[SPEAKER_03]: Long before I started working for D&P, but their mission model is very simple.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's simple, but transformation, because they are training their students in theology, but also vocationally as well.

[SPEAKER_03]: So they'll be equipped for ministry, but also with a skill to serve and to be sustainable.

[SPEAKER_03]: And then they are sent out right across Indonesia to all of the unreached areas where they serve first.

[SPEAKER_03]: They set themselves up in a little Muslim community.

[SPEAKER_03]: They build relationships.

[SPEAKER_03]: They provide a need for that community, whether it's through education or hospitality, or even like a little welding company.

[SPEAKER_03]: So much more.

[SPEAKER_03]: And then through relationships, they are able to plant a church.

[SPEAKER_03]: And they start their discipleship making movement.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's beautiful and simple and full of God's love.

[SPEAKER_03]: One of my favorite stories that's come out of our partnership in Indonesia is from Wado.

[SPEAKER_03]: So Wado is in West Java up the mountain amongst the beautiful tiered rice fields of Indonesia.

[SPEAKER_03]: And they sent a team up there to a little place that is occupied by young families.

[SPEAKER_03]: 99% of them are Muslim families.

[SPEAKER_03]: And they connected with that community to set up a little preschool.

[SPEAKER_03]: To offer some education.

[SPEAKER_03]: It's a very poor community with very little access and little opportunities to education.

[SPEAKER_03]: So the community was so thrilled when the school was set up in the program started and then they allowed the church to plant there.

[SPEAKER_03]: It was wonderful watching the growth over the last few years.

[SPEAKER_03]: One community church helped to build a playground for the little school and then the team they shared Bible stories with the mum's while the kids played.

[SPEAKER_03]: We helped them to create a computer room

[SPEAKER_03]: for the school, and they started a discipleship program.

[SPEAKER_03]: We helped them start a training program in welding for the fathers of the community, and they invited the men and the chief from the village to come to the church.

[SPEAKER_03]: Can you see it?

[SPEAKER_03]: Can you feel it?

[SPEAKER_03]: What a beautiful picture of partnership.

[SPEAKER_03]: X-32 to 3, why they were worshipping the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said, set apart from me, Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

[SPEAKER_03]: So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

[SPEAKER_03]: This is the church in Antioch, one of the most diverse churches in X and this becomes the

[SPEAKER_03]: And before that sending came worship, mission is born out of worship.

[SPEAKER_03]: Mission begins with God, not with strategies or plans.

[SPEAKER_03]: The church listens for the Spirit's direction, and that call to mission was recognized in community.

[SPEAKER_03]: It was communal.

[SPEAKER_03]: And the best part is everyone participates.

[SPEAKER_03]: some help resource, but everyone is involved.

[SPEAKER_03]: Paul and Barnabas weren't independent missionaries.

[SPEAKER_03]: They were commissioned and supported by the church.

[SPEAKER_03]: And it was a beautiful church, very diverse, different ages and ethnicities, experiences, and the kingdom of God grows when generations work together.

[SPEAKER_03]: Because we need the wisdom of older generations and the passion of younger generations.

[SPEAKER_03]: We need the energy of children and youth and we need the faithfulness of those who quietly serve in the background.

[SPEAKER_03]: So Mission Month is reminding us again that everyone has a seat at the table.

[SPEAKER_03]: No one is too young, no one is too old and no gift is insignificant.

[SPEAKER_03]: We saw in Acts different backgrounds, different stories, different gifts, but one spirit.

[SPEAKER_03]: One mission, one gospel.

[SPEAKER_03]: And that is still how God works today.

[SPEAKER_03]: Mission is strongest when everybody brings what they have and everyone plays their part.

[SPEAKER_03]: And we move together.

[SPEAKER_03]: And the kingdom of God never advanced through isolated Christians.

[SPEAKER_03]: It advanced through the gathered church.

[SPEAKER_03]: We need people to pray.

[SPEAKER_03]: Please pray for all of our partnerships.

[SPEAKER_03]: Local, national, and global.

[SPEAKER_03]: They need your prayers.

[SPEAKER_03]: And it's probably the thing that they ask for most.

[SPEAKER_03]: They never ask for money.

[SPEAKER_03]: They never ask for anything, not new projects, not new things.

[SPEAKER_03]: They ask for our prayers.

[SPEAKER_03]: We need people to encourage to share the message.

[SPEAKER_03]: We need you to think about being generous.

[SPEAKER_03]: We need people to equip, to advocate, and to mobilize, and mission belongs to the whole church.

[SPEAKER_03]: Everyone is involved.

[SPEAKER_03]: Are you participating?

[SPEAKER_03]: Perhaps God is staring you today.

[SPEAKER_03]: Perhaps there's been a seed planted in your heart, and now, missions month is the time for God to water that seed.

[SPEAKER_03]: Maybe this month will be your launching point into something new.

[SPEAKER_03]: And something I really, really value about our one care partners is their openness and their invitation for us to come, to taste and see.

[SPEAKER_03]: We run exposure trips, we run immersive experiences that are so foundational.

[SPEAKER_03]: I went on one and it changed my life.

[SPEAKER_03]: We take teams to the Philippines, every January.

[SPEAKER_03]: We also take teams to Indonesia and Cambodia.

[SPEAKER_03]: We've got an Indonesian trip in September this year.

[SPEAKER_03]: And we also take teams to visit our indigenous partners.

[SPEAKER_03]: They are wonderful, wonderful role models.

[SPEAKER_03]: And we can learn so much from them.

[SPEAKER_03]: Please come and talk to me if you're interested in going on a trip.

[SPEAKER_03]: And all of our partners will tell you that they look at that church in Antioch as their model church.

[SPEAKER_03]: The church was crisis-centered, empowered by the spirit.

[SPEAKER_03]: Their churches are multicultural, prayerful, generous, and spirit-led.

[SPEAKER_03]: And their mission flows from worship and prayer.

[SPEAKER_03]: But most of all, they will talk about community in partnership.

[SPEAKER_03]: And what a joy it is for us to partner, to get there.

[SPEAKER_03]: And the church in Antioch could have stayed comfortable there

[SPEAKER_03]: And so that's my challenge for us, this mission's month, to continue asking those questions.

[SPEAKER_03]: Are we facing outward?

[SPEAKER_03]: Who are we reaching?

[SPEAKER_03]: Who has not yet heard?

[SPEAKER_03]: Who might feel unseen or who needs hope?

[SPEAKER_03]: The hope of the gospel.

[SPEAKER_03]: We should be looking outward.

[SPEAKER_03]: Acts 14, 26 to 28.

[SPEAKER_03]: From Italia, they sailed back to Antioch where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

[SPEAKER_03]: And on arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door, opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

[SPEAKER_03]: And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

[SPEAKER_03]: All in Barnabas returned home from their first mission or journey.

[SPEAKER_03]: We need to return to community, to return to worship constantly.

[SPEAKER_03]: and Paul and Barnabas knew that they didn't operate independently, they returned to the church, that sent them.

[SPEAKER_03]: Because mission is difficult.

[SPEAKER_03]: Well, life is difficult.

[SPEAKER_03]: There are challenges we get discouraged.

[SPEAKER_03]: There's opposition, there's weiriness, but we are stronger together.

[SPEAKER_03]: And we weren't meant to be isolated in a loan.

[SPEAKER_03]: We are a body.

[SPEAKER_03]: And one of the best parts of that part should be that celebration.

[SPEAKER_03]: The church shares in the joy of what God is doing and what God has done.

[SPEAKER_03]: God should always be at the center and I love that verse.

[SPEAKER_03]: 27, they reported all that God had done through them.

[SPEAKER_03]: Mission is God's work through His people.

[SPEAKER_03]: And I love that Pastor Choi chose this theme for us this year because it's both invitation and commission.

[SPEAKER_03]: The invitation is for us to worship, to pray, to encourage, to discern, to break bread and to hear God's voice.

[SPEAKER_03]: That's the invitation.

[SPEAKER_03]: But we do not stay gathered.

[SPEAKER_03]: The commissioning is that we are sent.

[SPEAKER_03]: into workplaces, into schools, into our neighbourhood, into conversations, into relationships, and maybe into other nations, if God is speaking to you about that.

[SPEAKER_03]: We are gathered together to gather more.

[SPEAKER_03]: And imagine what would happen if every person here in Breast Mission as our calling

[SPEAKER_03]: not someone else's.

[SPEAKER_03]: Imagine if every table became a place of welcome, if every conversation and carried that hope of the gospel.

[SPEAKER_03]: Imagine if every family saw themselves as sent and every church member played their part.

[SPEAKER_03]: The early church changed the world not because they were powerful, but because they were united in Christ and filled with the Spirit, the same spirit

[SPEAKER_03]: So we gather together as the church, so that God may gather more people into His kingdom.

[SPEAKER_03]: And so that's the bigger picture.

[SPEAKER_03]: Over those five texts that I chose there today.

[SPEAKER_03]: X1, mission begins in worship.

[SPEAKER_03]: The church is empowered by the spirit together.

[SPEAKER_03]: X2, mission happens in community.

[SPEAKER_03]: The church lives together.

[SPEAKER_03]: The church shares together.

[SPEAKER_03]: X-13 mission gathers people into God's kingdom, the church sends together.

[SPEAKER_03]: An X-14 mission is for all of us, and the church will celebrate that together.

[SPEAKER_06]: Thank you.

[SPEAKER_06]: Thank you for supporting us.

[SPEAKER_06]: Good place.

[SPEAKER_03]: They're very cute.

[SPEAKER_03]: Mission wasn't meant to be individual.

[SPEAKER_03]: In acts, the spirit forms the people who pray together, live together, give together, go together and celebrate together for the sake of the gospel, and see us Lewis once wrote.

[SPEAKER_03]: Every Christian is to become a little Christ.

[SPEAKER_03]: The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.

[SPEAKER_03]: And perhaps that's the heart.

[SPEAKER_03]: A people gathered by Jesus becoming more like Jesus.

[SPEAKER_03]: Sent by Jesus so that more people may know Jesus.

[SPEAKER_03]: May we be together together.

[SPEAKER_03]: I'd like to invite the band up as I pray together.

[SPEAKER_03]: Lord Jesus, thank you that you never intended us to walk alone.

[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you for the gift of your church, the body of Christ gathered together.

[SPEAKER_03]: Teach us to be a people who worship together, who pray together, serve together, and go together.

[SPEAKER_03]: Break our comfort where necessary and stretch our vision beyond ourselves.

[SPEAKER_03]: Lord help us to see mission not just as a calling of the few but the privilege of all of your people.

[SPEAKER_03]: Lord use our tables, our conversations, our giving, our serving, our prayers, and all of our partnerships for it.

[SPEAKER_03]: Use them to gather more people into your kingdom.

[SPEAKER_03]: Holy Spirit come.

[SPEAKER_03]: Holy Spirit send us with courage, give us boldness, fill us with compassion, and unite us in purpose.

[SPEAKER_03]: Lord, we ask a blessing over mission's month.

[SPEAKER_03]: Lord, we lifted up to you and everything.

[SPEAKER_03]: Everything we do, Lord, is to bring all honor and all glory to you.

[SPEAKER_03]: In Jesus' precious name, we pray.

[SPEAKER_03]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_07]: Please stand with us if you're able, so we sing and praise God.