Benito Carbone - The Transforming Power of Grace | 21:12:25

Um, so

one of our great parts of uh church life

which we're very grateful for is our

youth group, Fearless Youth. I think

there's a few of you guys here today. Is

that right? Some Fearless Youth people.

Is that

There's a couple. They're shy. They're

being very Deacon being very shy. But uh

one of the things we're really grateful

for and thankful for is um this year

four of our youth got baptized.

water baptized,

taking the step of obedience to say,

"Jesus, I want to follow you with every

part of my life. I give you everything

and I choose to follow you even to do

something crazy like be put underwater

and brought out again. I'm willing to do

that as crazy as that might seem." And

uh just to show your your commitment and

your love for him. So, we're going to

ask them to come up. I'm going to get

Bonito to come up as well um to present

them their baptism certificates. So

Hannah, Isabella,

Jake,

and

Stuart.

But do you want to say something?

>> Yeah. No, these guys I've I've watched

them uh go through this year. Come come

over this way, guys. Come come stand in

front. Um watch them go through uh quite

a journey of faith. um each in their own

uh special and unique ways, but all of

them having been encountered uh by God

and all of them knowing uh Jesus and

that being something that's transformed

their life. Um and they all shared about

it at youth when they got baptized. Um

really encouraging testimonies. Uh you

might have saw bits of it when we played

it on video at church the the following

Sunday. Not the whole videos. They

didn't see everything you guys said, but

just the key the key bits. But we also

since then we had Stuart get baptized as

well. So he was he made a big step of

faith

and

we just wanted to um wanted to give you

guys a token of uh of baptism knowing

that you have uh completed it. So

completed you're always becoming more

like Christ but you've uh been baptized.

So here's your certificates.

But keep these guys in your prayers

because they're doing this journey of

faith. And as everyone here knows, it's

got its ups and downs and it's got its

highs and lows, but uh one thing that is

constant is um is Jesus. And you guys

are walking testimonies and walking uh

examples of that. So um be with them,

help them out, and um I'm sure you guys

will continue to follow Jesus long into

uh the years of your life. So give him

another clap and we'll cheer him on.

How how good is that? Something to be

grateful for, thankful for. God is good.

He's touching people's lives. Um

before I get into the announcements and

so forth, I do want to just take a

moment um just to acknowledge that

hasn't been an easy year for a lot of

us. different things have happened. Uh

we know many of the situations. I don't

want to bring them up now, but I do want

us to take a moment to pray for each

other and just pray for especially those

that we know are uh have some real

challenges in front of them or have been

through some real challenges and just

need to know that they are loved and

supported and cared for. Um people have

lost family members this year. people

have had uh cancer diagnosis, had family

members with cancer diagnosis, all sorts

of things, really difficult and

challenging things that we understand.

Um you it's not easy to go through, but

we want you to know you're not in it

alone. We are supporting you and here

for you. So, um, what I would love to

do, this might change it up a little

bit, but all of those people that if

you're brave enough, it might be a bit

challenging, but if you've been through

some stuff this year and you'd love some

prayer right now, you'd love your church

family to get around you and stand with

you, I'd just love you to just stand

where you are. And uh, and I'd ask

others to go and stand with them as

well. Thanks, Carrie. And, uh, others

around. Yeah, different families.

Thanks, Monica.

Awesome. If you see these guys, go and

stand with them. Helen and Leanne.

So, go and find someone to stand with

them.

That would be awesome.

Steve and Judes,

they're stood up late.

That's fantastic.

Lou and Paul,

thanks Dan. Stand with Bill and Jace at

the back as well. It's awesome.

You just pray for them right where you

are. You don't need me to pray.

Just stand with them and pray with them.

Speak into their lives. just pray

blessing over them, strength,

comfort, healing right now in Jesus'

name. Lord God, we believe for healing.

Believe that you would make each one

whole,

Lord. Those that are struggling with

grief and sadness that you would come

and stand with them and let them know

they are not alone, that you are with

them, that you are with them, God, right

now in Jesus name. Lord, we pray for the

healing power of God to come and flow

through their body right now in Jesus'

name.

Come, Lord God, bring strength, bring

comfort, bring healing,

bring peace. We pray in Jesus' name.

Bring reconciliation. God, I pray

that you'd restore relationships,

restore lives,

bring hope

right into this space. We thank you,

God.

We thank you, Lord.

God,

thank you, Lord.

Thank you God in Jesus name.

Amen.

It's not an easy time of the year.

Christmas for a lot of us. It's a

challenging time for different reasons.

And so keep each other in your prayers.

You have our advent calendar today. Our

prayer point in advent is actually

Pop-Up Kitchen and the community of

Pop-Up Kitchen. So to pray for them and

many of you are here today. A lot of

people who have become a part of this

church because of Pop-Up Kitchen and and

uh we so grateful that you can be here

and that you are here and become a part

of this community. So we keep everyone

in your prayers over this period. Um,

some announcements, just some

housekeeping,

uh, before Bonito comes to share. Um,

the offering box is up the back. I know

you've all been spending lots of money

on presents and stuff, but the church

still has to run and function, so we'd

love your giving uh to continue your

giving and and to help us uh keep doing

what we're doing. Uh, so the offering

box is up the back. Pop your offering in

there. Uh, next Sunday we don't have a

church service.

Everyone hear that? You meant to go, oh,

you'll be too full and too fat from

eating too much that you won't be able

to even get here. So, so the idea is

it's a week off. It's a break. Uh,

everyone's celebrated Christmas between

Christmas and New Year. Traditionally,

we we don't do a Christmas or a church

service on that Sunday. So, it's just a

chance as well for you to spend time

with friends and family and and just

enjoy some time together outside of this

space. So, no service next week. Did you

get that?

>> What did I say?

>> Oh, you're amazing.

I'll still have to put a door a a sign

on the door saying no service, but it's

Christmas Day. Thank you, Nathan. That's

my next one on my list. Thank you very

much. So, this uh Thursday 10:00 a.m. Uh

it is a little bit later because uh we

do it usually do it at 9:30, but we

thought why are we doing it at 9:30 and

getting up so early? Um probably you

guys with kids are happy to do that, but

we say 10 to 11 we have church here. So,

we'll get together, gather together,

share communion, remember what Christmas

is all about, the true meaning of

Christmas, and then go and stuff our

faces and do all of that stuff.

So, next

Thursday, what time is our Christmas

service?

>> Awesome. Look, you guys are amazing.

Um, I'm in school teacher mode today. Is

that good?

Holidays,

someone's got to do it. Um

and then the following Sunday after next

Sunday which I think is the 4th of

January. Is that right? We have our

church picnika

as London would say picnic.

Um so we have the picnic uh which is at

a different place again. We like to keep

it fresh and new and uh just to mix it

up. We actually moved it away from the

beach cuz we weren't sure the algal

bloom would be there. So apparently it's

gone, but that doesn't matter. We found

a really cool park and playground on the

corner of uh Semur Road and Fletcher

Road. Um it's called the Naval Reserve

Playground. There's a big undercover

area. There's barbecues, a massive

playground, huge playground, and a

massive basketball court as well as an

oval to kick the footy and play cricket

on. So great spot. So, it's not far from

here, just straight back down Fletcher

Road and um on the corner of Fletcher

and Semore. We provide the meat for the

barbecue. All you need to do is bring a

salad or a drink. Does that sound fair?

So, that's 11:00 a.m. the first Sunday

of January the 4th. Is that good? So,

that's our annual thing we do every

year. Do you want one of them? Oh,

thanks for that. I thought I was getting

punished. Oh, I thought that was

One more time.

All right. So, picnic first Sunday of

January. Is that cool?

All right. As many of you know, a lot of

the young people have come out today

because this is Bonito and Emily's last

Sunday with us today. So, happy sad

time. really happy for uh what God has

got for them and where they're going and

the future before them. But we're sad

because we'll miss them. And they've

made a big impact on this community. So,

uh I know many of you are going to miss

them, but we're also excited to see what

God's got planned for them in the next

phase. So, why don't you put your hands

together? This probably won't be the

last time he preaches here. We will get

him back, but put your hands together

for Bonito as he comes.

How we doing, guys? Are we good? That's

good. Give me a second to get ready. Uh

cuz usually you guys will chat to each

other for for a moment. Uh but we're

going we're going in cold uh to this

message.

That's all right. It's my last one. I'm

a bit sad about this. Um, but if you

guys will have me back, I will happily

thanks him. I'll happily come and share

um to you guys. And I thought before I

start, it'd probably be a good time uh

to give thanks um give thanks to God for

being a part of this community. I see so

many faces here that I know and love and

have spent time with and have grown up

with perhaps uh through church from when

this church started in 2010 to when I

took over as youth coordinator in 2020

uh till people who I've met in the last

year or so. And there's heaps of others

who have already gone away for their

Christmas celebrations. But I feel super

grateful and full of joy to to know all

of you and to have had and like I just

know that you guys have had such

profound impact on my life and I know

this is a general thank you but hope

each and every one of you know like who

I know well um know that I like

everything you've done for me and

everything you've done for Emily and I

and the ways you've supported us even

when we haven't known about it um has

has deeply shaped shaped us and and

helped us to be who we are and and like

the seeds that have been uh sown in this

community will take wherever we go

whether it's Victor Harour, whether it's

uh somewhere else. It's a it's a it's a

great joy to have been part of this

place and hopefully not the last time

I'm in this building. I know it won't

be. I'll probably come to Christmas as

well if any of you guys are there. So,

um I should get into it. But yeah,

thanks guys. Honestly, thank you. And um

yeah, if I if I could

make if if I don't catch you at the end

of the service, make sure you send me a

message or or something and we we'll

chat. But yeah, let me pray. Um and then

we'll get into it. Today, we're actually

we're finishing our series on grace. Um,

dad preached profoundly on how this

happy season of like advent and

Christmas examples perfectly how grace

came to us. U grace arrived in the form

of Jesus. And um then Matt shared really

meaningfully on how grace comes from us.

Uh how we live freely, how we can give

freely from the grace we freely

received. Um and I'll be sharing on the

transforming power of grace in us. So

let's pray and I'll get but Sam if I can

get the clicker down here as well that

would be awesome. Thanks.

God, we thank you for this morning. We

thank you uh for this community and the

port church and this youth group and and

everyone who's here. Lord, um you see

them all. You love them all. And and

God, I just pray that through today that

your words um that your your voice

guides mine, that that I can uh be a

spokesperson for you, that you um yeah,

just lead the way and help us to

understand grace and to experience grace

because it really is the the defining

factor of our faith and it really does

changes everything, Lord. And we're so

thankful for you and u we're so thankful

for your grace and we always will be. In

your name we pray.

Amen. Amen. All right. Well, we're going

to get into a scripture to start things

off. Um, and then I don't know where

we'll end up, but um we'll start with

John. It's uh some of you might know the

start of John. John is one of the

gospels obviously written by John. Uh he

goes on this monologue about who Jesus

is, how he was the word, and then he

became flesh and he came down and and

joined us and and came onto earth to be

with us. And I'm just going to read this

part of the scripture here

because it says, "But to all who

received him, who believed in his name,

he gave power to become children of God,

who were born not of blood or of the

will of the flesh or of the will of man,

but of God. And the word became flesh

and lived among us. And we seen his

glory, the glory as of a father's only

son, full of grace and truth. For his

fullness we have all received grace upon

grace. The law indeed given through

Moses. Grace and truth came through

Jesus Christ.

Now um I go to I I'm studying at the

moment doing my masters at Bible college

and one of my lecturers rags on about

this idea of theosis. I guess it's not

really ragging as it's pretty

interesting idea and it comes from some

early church like theological

understandings.

But anyway, this idea is simply

characterized and stay with me here on

this. Athanasius says this, "The son of

man, son of God became man so that by

grace man might become God." And you

might be thinking, "When we don't become

literally God, that is true." But he's

not saying we become literally God, but

that the gospel shows that by grace

through Jesus, we can now share in God's

kingdom and be transformed into his

likeness. Quite simply, I'll put it in

my words uh just because I feel like it

might be more helpful. Jesus came to us

so that by his grace we could have the

chance to be with him, become like him

and do what he did. That is the

Christian life. Jesus came to earth. He

was a baby. So that we could come to

him. We could be with him. We could

become like him. He we could be

transformed and then we could do what he

did. We could give freely out of the

grace that he gave us. That is the

Christmas message. that is the key to

this and I don't know if I have to share

anything else because that um is a word

in itself and uh something that I think

we just need to like sit in and

understand and know

I guess I from here where do I go like

why does God do this why does God come

to us why does God decide to arrive on

earth and maybe you think of John 3:16

John 3:16

for God so loved the world that he gave

his only son obviously God loves us. And

in my experience of God here at this

church and in my own life,

God is good. God is kind. And God is

loving or merciful. I stand here

probably weary um from the the year that

has been and the season that is

finishing but in awe of the weight of

evidence that shows me that these things

are in fact true that God is good that

God is kind and that God is loving and

he is merciful.

My message today is a testimony

that the things of God can become our

things too. that God's goodness and

kindness and love can encounter us and

transform us and then be the markers of

our lives as well.

So I want to give you some active

definitions of what I see when I see the

words good and kind and loving um

because and and in in action because

love happens in action. Grace is love in

action coming to earth redeeming us,

reconciling us. So when I think of the

word good or goodness I to seek goodness

is to work towards the flourishing and

benefit of someone or something. It is

to move towards the good. It is um and

some people might have mixed ideas of

what goodness is, but it's based and

connected closely to truth because um

some things are fundamentally good and

healthy for us and for our flourishing

and some things are not good for us and

hurt us and affect us badly. When I

think of the word kindness, um, when I

speak of kindness, it is seeking

goodness for us, but doing so. And when

we think of God's kindness for us, God

is kind. He seeks goodness for us in

such a way that patiently cares about

us. It upholds our dignity and does not

harm us in any way. God could be good

and not kind if he wanted to. He could

create this earth and force us to follow

him and believe in him. He could make

everything happen according to his will

without any consideration of who we are

or what we're doing or what we care

about. But God is kind and he seeks

goodness for us in such a way that

actually really patiently cares about

us. It actually upholds who we are and

our dignity and it doesn't harm us in

any way. So that's my idea of kindness.

We need goodness, but we also need God's

kindness as well. And when we think of

the word love or mercy, we think of

agape love, unconquerable benevolence.

But I I want to see love as a deep and

active and selfless affection that

causes God to choose to be close to us

in spite of our inadequacies. this

unconquerable benevolence that sees a

God that wants to be close to us despite

our shortcomings and despite our

failures. It's selfless, it's deep, and

it's constant.

Now, the gospel is loaded with stories

of Jesus working in these ways. Um, just

last Friday, we have a Bible study with

some of our youth crew and we finished

off the Gospel of Luke the other day and

it was fun and then we went all got

Yochi afterwards and had a swim at the

beach. It's pretty good time. Uh, but we

read the betrayal and death and

resurrection of Jesus. Pretty heavy

stuff. Um, but really good. And I was uh

I was struck by a couple of the stories

in there that just showed God's charact

Jesus's character and how he actually

like just loves people and is kind to

people and is uh still seeking ultimate

goodness like not not losing the point

of what it's all about but still acting

in such a way that really loves people

and is selfless and giving. Um, so for

example, Luke 22 48-51. I'm just going

to race through these, but they're

really good stories. Um, but you had the

betrayal and arrest of Jesus. Jesus

praying in the garden. And a soldiers

come and arrest him. And his disciples

saying, "All right, this is the time for

war. This is the time to fight back."

And this is what it says in verse 49.

When those who were around him saw what

was coming, they asked, "Lord, should we

strike with the sword?" Then one of them

struck the slave of the high priest and

cut off his right ear. But Jesus said,

"No more of this." And he touched his

ear and healed him.

I mean, Jesus didn't have to do that. It

wasn't his fault that the guy's ear got

cut off. Um, he

knew he was going to be betrayed. He

knew he was going to be arrested and he

knew that would lead to ultimate

goodness. He did not stop that from

happening, but he did so in such a way

that he was kind enough to heal this

guard's ear. And he was loving and

merciful enough uh to not hold it

against them that they were arresting

him, that they were putting him on

trial, that they were going to have him

killed. Um it was this is an awesome

story of just in the midst of like

struggle, Jesus showing these things to

be true. You look at like when he's on

the cross itself when he's dying and

there are two guards uh sorry two

criminals next to him what it says in

Luke 23:39

Luke 23:39–43

to 43 one of the criminals who were

hanged there kept deriding him and

saying are you not the Messiah save

yourself and us but the other rebuked

him saying do you not fear God since you

are under the same sentence of

condemnation

and we indeed have been condemned justly

for we are getting what we deserve

deserve for our deeds. But this man has

done nothing wrong. Then he said,

"Jesus, remember me when you come into

your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell

you, today you will be with me in

paradise." Now Jesus did not have to

worry about the criminals to his left

and right when he is being crucified.

His um like he's being tortured to death

and he still had the time and the care

for his people to talk to them. not just

talk to them, ignore what was wrong,

ignore the mocking, ignore the deriding,

but when when one of the criminals

turned to him, he had the kindness to

welcome him into his kingdom. And I I

just I I tell these stories because

Jesus works in these ways in little

moments. And if he works in these way in

little moments, then he works in these

way all through creation and all through

the lives that we live. And then that's

the way that he will work in our lives

as well. God will be good to us. God

will be kind to us. God will be loving

and he will be merciful when we fall

short when we when we stuff up.

I think of the incarnation

and God chose to p good for us to

reconcile humanity to oneself. The

incarnation being the birth of Jesus

coming as a baby. He reconciled humanity

to us by doing this act. He was kind

because

God chose to make his home with humanity

as a baby in a manger. He didn't decide

to come in as a on a stallion and and

and

declare a war on society that saw

thousands killed. He decided to be with

us, to become like us, to know us.

And obviously, he loves us. What does it

say? For God so loved the world that he

gave his only son.

So the character of Jesus radiates

grace. So where and how does this grace

play out here and now? God came to us.

Grace came to us. And when we welcome

grace, we do not stay the same.

We become like him.

And my story at the port church is one

of grace arriving and transforming my

life. And I sit here very thankful

because I've seen God's work in my life

and I know that he is good and I know

that he is for me. Um but at the like

let's say 2017

I didn't I I knew God but I did not live

a surrendered life. And uh maybe it was

growing up as a pastor's kid under a

pretty good family. Let's be real. So, I

had a pretty good upbringing. I was

pretty uh privileged in where I was at.

But for whatever reason, in my own life,

I was probably, I guess, self-centered.

My I want I was ambitious. I was young.

I wanted to get the most I could out of

this life and out of this world. Um, I

was preoccupied with my own legacy and

what I could create and what I could

become in this world and what I could

get out of um, friendships, out of

relationships

and it was all around um, around me. And

as a result, I struggled with desires

and and with lust that threatened to

derail any sense of God given God-given

purpose for my life. Um, I was a jaded

18-year-old, 19-year-old carrying a lot

of shame. I was mad at God for not

giving me what I wanted. And I had this

sense of my own righteousness, which the

Bible says, our own righteousness is is

filthy rags. I thought I knew what was

good for me. I thought I knew what was

good for my life. I thought I knew how

to live the good life. And it just

didn't line up with the gospel. And

because of that, it wasn't God's

righteousness. It was it was my own idea

of what I could achieve in this life.

and it was worth nothing. But you, some

of you might know the story. I think I

shared it um last time I was in uh a

couple couple preachers ago, but this

jaded 20-year-old walked into a church

service one evening in 2018 and we were

worshiping and I was just frustrated and

angry and hurt and not making sense of

the world and and pretty tired as well.

Um, and we were singing a song in

worship and I don't think I was that

engaged in it, but I was just kind of

there and um, I just remember the the

the

worship being definitely

that deafeningly.

Is that right? Deafeningly.

It was ridiculously loud. Yeah. So, um,

I don't know. I think we were singing

How Great Is Our God or or something

like that. But it honestly sounded like

a chorus of angels had filled the room

and I was too scared to look to my left

and right to see like who who was behind

me. But I just remember Jack was leading

worship and he fell to his knees and

started weeping. I don't remember who

else was up at the time. And that was

the last thing I kind of remember from

the actual service. I just felt an

encounter with grace that changed my

life. And I was embraced by the father.

I remember having my arms held out,

feeling like I was being hugged and

restored to him. I was broken. I was uh

like full of shame. And I just felt like

I could just collapse into his arms. And

and Jesus, God took his time with me. He

restored me to him in that moment. And

it was like coming home to a place I

should have always been.

And in a moment, my life changed. filled

with love, filled with grace.

God had a love, enough mercy and love

for this sinner to move towards and find

me. I was restored to the father with

the patient kindness that God alone has.

He didn't just click his fingers and

make things okay. He actually embraced

me and held me.

And he didn't just stay there. He was a

dad with the goodness to help me move

towards the things that make me whole.

He didn't just have an encounter with me

and say, "Yep, that's all good, Bonito.

Go on and live your life now." He walked

with me. He walked alongside me and

helped me to, I guess, become the person

I am and and and the person I'm still

becoming. Um, being more like Christ.

Like our lives owe everything to grace.

um when you think of the world uh being

held in his hands, if if if God created

this world and holds everything in

place, he could just as easily let

things go and let things fall into ruin.

Um so in in a sense, grace encompasses

everything like we we're thankful to be

alive. But something happens when we

personally encounter grace, when grace

enters our lives in a profound and

tangible way. And this was my encounter

of unmmerited love and of grace. Um, and

it's different for everyone. Other

people have encounters of grace where

they're changed day by day. Um, or or

that there's not a a really rapid

encounter, but there is a like God shows

himself to shows himself to them time

and time again.

But what happened in the seven years or

so after I encountered grace. Um

and this is the idea I want to talk

about when we talk about grace being in

us. Um so grace came to me. I

experienced God and but he didn't leave

me there. grace actually continued to to

work in my life and work in my story and

encounter me. And yeah, I want to talk

about that because that is the key here.

And this is the transformation that

grace does in us that allows us to live

out lives of wholeness and goodness. Um

because God was too good to leave me

with my misdirected desires and um and

stuck in not knowing what was right and

what was not and stuck in knowing what

was what I was going to do with my life,

whether I was going to chase the things

of the world or or or

belong to him.

And

I knew deep down that if God was real

and the God that I encountered loved me,

then I knew that his plans for my life

would be for my good. And once I knew

that my his plans for my life would

would be good and I trusted him nothing

like I knew that I could lean on him. I

knew that I could rely on him and I knew

that he would hold me and he would have

me and he would keep me. Trust took

time.

Surrender didn't happen in a heartbeat,

but day by day, my heart was changing.

Um, and there was a key verse that kind

of became the mantra um of my life, the

the the words that I sought to live my

life by. Um, and they're found in Romans

12 1-2.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and

sisters, in view of God's mercy, to

offer your bodies, that means everything

you are, everything you do, as a living

sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

This is your true and proper worship.

Don't copy the behavior and customs of

this world, but let God transform you

into a new person by changing the way

you think. Then you will learn to know

God's will for you which is good and

pleasing and perfect.

So powerful.

Let God transform you into a new person

by changing the way you think. And then

you will learn to know God's will for

you which is good and pleasing and

perfect.

From this point of encounter, I knew

that God's will was good for me. I knew

that it would be for my good and I knew

that I could trust it. And with patience

and gentleness and kindness, God sat

with me as I wrestled and and

contemplated and worried and fredded and

rocked back and forth around living a

life with Jesus at the center. It felt

hard to follow Jesus, like genuinely

challenging, and there were ups and

downs and it went against my urge to not

conform. I always wanted to be

different. Um, I always wanted to be not

the same as my brother Jack or uh not a

pastor like my dad. Um, didn't work out.

But

I was relearning in this time and in

this like probably what six or seven six

seven years after uh after this

encounter in 2018. It has been that

long. I'm sorry. Um,

I was relearning disordered patterns of

disordered patterns of behavior that

came from a past lived without God. Um,

and a past that didn't have God at the

center of my life. And choosing to trust

the shepherd over and over again and let

go of these things that were not of him

was not easy.

But I was really thankful as well for

God's patience with me because he gave

me the dignity to choose whether I was

going to follow him or whether I was not

going to. whether I was going to pursue

him or whether I was not. But when I

made a mistake or when I didn't, he

still stayed with me and he still

allowed me to grow and learn. And then

over time, yeah, this is not a God that

forces you to do anything. This is a God

that loves you enough to let you choose.

And Jesus sat with me waiting, watching,

and guiding me when I allowed him to.

And when I stuffed up, he loved me to

remain near. He loved me enough to

remain near when I inevitably trudged

back to him with a contrite heart, with

a with a with a with an attitude that

was like, "Yeah, God, I failed. Um, let

me try again."

And God's goodness and kindness and love

were working actively in my life as I

chose to stay close to him instead of

pursuing the things of this world.

Slowly but surely, each day I was being

transformed. I was being renewed to be

more like him.

And then these qualities were fast

becoming markers of my life. In leading

our youth group, God stoked the fire in

my heart to see youth in this community

loved. He placed in me a patience and a

kindness to stand by these young people

when others in their lives left. And a

resolute desire for them to know

goodness, to know the truth, and for it

to set them free.

These things that God bestowed upon me

became things that I could live out and

I could give out as grace transformed my

life. And they are all things I'm so

grateful to God for.

But if if I'm honest, in the thick of

actually leading a ministry and actually

doing the things uh that we do, whether

it was a Wednesday or a Friday, I often

got it wrong. like it's not like I just

became perfect and and uh led a team

really well and never forced them never

was controlling or asked them to do too

much or uh I don't know just stuffed up

a night and uh had a laugh about it. Um

I floundered around. I I struggled and I

was probably like not heaps confident

when I started off. But God was kind and

he was patient and he was good and he

moved me towards him to be more like him

to know him more.

And God is kind to us. He loves each and

every one of us. He loves each and every

one of you young people more than we as

a team as a youth team ever can. And

when we seek him, and even sometimes

when we don't, God points us towards

what is good for his community and what

is good for his people.

Over time, I've actually learned not to

see perfection as the goal. Um, but to

replace perfection with um faithfulness

and and authenticity

because often our desired outcome is not

aligned with God's um but in authentic

faithfulness, we move closer to the

heart of God even in failure.

um or in things that turned out how we

didn't expect it. Failure is probably a

bit of a harsh word because we're always

on this journey of becoming. But I mean,

for example, one thing we did this year

was our youth camp is some of the crew

that were there. It was a really awesome

time and a really um yeah, just a a

wonderful time. But I remember having a

few conversations with Hamish around uh

when we were putting this thing

together. We were like, is God actually

wanting us to do this camp? We'd

organized a quiz night. You guys had

raised five grand, which was incredible.

And things are all coming together for

it. Um, but like our youth group on a

Friday, we have about 25, 30 young

people. And at the time, we only really

had 10 youth coming along. I think it

got up to like 12 or 13, but we were

like, is this like, is this actually

what God wants us to do, or are we

missing the mark? Is there something

wrong here? And obviously numbers isn't

everything, but we wanted our youth to

be a part of it. we like put together

this program that we felt really

embodied faith and allowed them to just

experience the abundance that God has

for them but also have a chance to

encounter God um without

like being focused too much on sessions

and and and um and just forcing them to

to follow follow God or anything like

that. It was a it was a wellthoughtout

and planned camp that took a couple of

terms to organize and probably me

ranting at Hamish for a long time about

what camp should be like and then we'd

talk about how the sessions and how the

program would work out and then we

change things again and anyway the camp

happens. Um and coming into it uncertain

about what God was going to do. God was

just so kind to us and so good to us and

so good to everyone who came along. We

had the most incredible time where there

was just such a joy and such a unity and

such an abundance that the youth um were

able to experience where we like

honestly like live live life to the full

and um for those three days they were

able to step out of the community that

they were in. they were able to

just escape the world for a moment and

live in

an a glimpse of the goodness that God

has for their life. And that was really

powerful. And God worked in ways that we

didn't expect. And we came back from

that camp full of joy and full of um

just straight enthusiasm for what God

was doing um in this youth group. And it

wasn't anything that we could have

hoped. Like we had our ideals and we had

our hopes. But when we changed our

mindset to just be faithful with what we

had and authentic uh in how we lived out

our faith, God met us in that. And you

look at um you look at the the the fruit

of this youth ministry now and and and

the excitement people have for Jesus and

and just like it's not it's not about a

camp. It's I think honestly Jesus has

just moved in this place and done

incredible things and we were just

honestly really lucky to to be here and

and and

witness it in this space that we created

um that we cultivated that we put

together.

So I mean I learned from that grace

transforms. I don't transform. Good

programs don't transform. God's

unwarranted,

active, constant, beautiful love for us

transforms.

And it does this in so many ways. Like

individually, this unwarranted, active,

constant, and beautiful love. It breaks

up chains and sets us free. It

transforms us to be more like him. In

community, it empowers us to live like

Jesus.

um to live lives of grace, where we

forgive, where we listen, where we have

compassion for others, where we

look to better the community around us,

where we the way that we live changes

the lives of those around us, too. But

it's not out of our own good doing. It's

out of God's grace in our lives. And

then like for the kingdom of um for this

world for this kingdom like grace works

against the corruption and sin of this

world and brings about the kingdom of

God here and now. This unwarranted and

active and constant and beautiful love

subverts the things of this world. It

works against the corruption and the

decaying of society as we see it. I mean

grace is what sets Christianity alone in

this world. No other religion, no other

ideal ideology can has grace at the

center of of what it's about. And it

just completely flips everything else

that this world is about and what it's

trying to like what we see the world and

people in the world trying to do. Grace

chooses to love where others choose to

hate. It it it's kind where others want

to want to keep theirs and hold theirs

close and and not care about others.

It's um and it seeks to uphold what is

good.

And more importantly than any of these

things, if I can say that grace brings

us closer to the father than we could

ever know.

This is the most profound impact of

grace that we could know Jesus, that we

could know God. we can know the Holy

Spirit because that to have a

relationship with with our God is is the

greatest privilege um of our life. The

fact that God actually wants that is

astounding.

But I stand here evidence of a God that

actually has encountered me and actually

wants relationship with us. And it

there's like nothing else that's more

important when you experience that.

Like before Jesus came to earth, the

door was shut for us. The law of Moses

had failed to bridge the gaping chasm of

sin. Um if we go into some uh history of

of the Old Testament, um there was so

much brokenness in this world, loss,

torment, suffering. These things were

rampant 2,000 years ago as they were

now. But in the dirt of the country

stable came our savior.

Grace arrived and it changed the course

of this world forever.

We now have access to the God that loves

us. We have a friend who picks us up

when we fall.

In my story, I was met with goodness,

kindness, and mercy.

These things I didn't deserve. These

things God met with me met me with

anyway.

Now they are the very signs of a life

being transformed by grace.

And you know what? This goodness,

kindness, and mercy, this love is here

for you to experience as well.

I'm here standing here telling you that

grace has opened the door that was shut.

Jesus opened the door when he arrived on

earth. Was born as a baby and he lived

and he died and he rose again,

reconciling us back to him.

Grace has opened the door.

Walk through it. Open yourself up to a

grace encounter of your own that

transforms your life. You don't have to.

Jesus is there waiting, but he gives you

the choice.

But the savior of the world did come and

he does save us and he does love us. And

to be to be honest, what else matters

more than that? Let me pray.

just encourage you guys now um to open

yourself up to him. If you want an

encounter with grace,

if you want to know Jesus,

if you want to be restored to him, if

you want to have that relationship with

him,

it wasn't that I wasn't a Christian when

I had this encounter. I was I was

baptized at a young age, but I've

forgotten what grace looked like.

And anyone here can have that today if

they would so like

so every out every eye closed. I'm going

to pray. And if that's you, just

hold your hands out in front of you.

I'm going to pray.

Thank you Jesus for your grace.

Thank you that you came to us that you

wanted to be with us

and as we are with you we can become

like you as well.

Thank you that you can transform our

life. I just pray that you meet us here

this morning in our need and in our

emptiness, in our tiredness and in our

weariness. God,

I pray that your grace flows

through us and and changes us. Pray that

we can encounter you right here and

right now.

That all the things of this world

grow strangely dim.

and that you are the only thing that

remains, the only thing that's

important, God.

So Jesus, encounter us with your grace.

Make us new.

Wash all the rubbish away.

Restore us back to you, that we would

know you, and that we would trust you.

that we would see your goodness in

kindness and mercy toward us and know

that

you are for our good.

God, just fill us with your love.

Thank God for those who

feel far from you right now. Just draw

draw near to them. Let them know you've

drawn near to them.

And in the midst of what feels like a

closed room, a prison cell, a locked

gate, a shut door, God,

that

you are knocking on the door, that you

have made a way and that they can know

you

whether it's today or someday in the

future. Lord,

this time, this Christmas,

every Christmas, where we remember that

you came to us, God,

I pray that we know just how profound

that is,

and that how much you would have had to

you you you would have to love us to

want to do that.

We thank you God and we praise you in

your name. Amen.

Just going to ask Bonito and Emily to

come up.

Um

we've asked uh Hish and Wanita to come

and lead us in this next section. So if

they want to come up

uh they've organized some of the young

people to pay tribute to you guys and

thank you for the uh last five years. So

I'm just going to hand it over to them

and allow the next part.

One second.

>> All right, young people, if you guys are

coming up to share, you guys can come up

now as well. Um, I said to Wita like

four weeks ago that we should and youth

team as well. If you're coming up to

share, uh, that we should organize

something and then I went on holidays

and didn't organize anything. So, um,

Wita is on top of it. But, um, yeah,

we've got some some of our youth team

and and uh people from youth wherever.

Um yeah that that just wanted to to say

something um to thank you guys uh and

yeah send you off um because you have

done a lot for these guys and and um

yeah it has been what for Benito five

six years more um as part of youth as

well. So, so yeah, we wanted to to thank

you guys. Um, yeah, I was just going to

start off. Now, this is really directed

at Bonito, so sorry.

Um, but I think back to when I first met

Bonito. It was a table lecture lecture

and we sat well and I sat on a table by

myself at Bonito after probably rocking

up late. Sat on a table full of others.

As the lecture went on, I looked at the

clock, planning what I'll do with the

rest of my day.

Uh, and Bonito spent his time asking

questions, you know, getting every

little detail um, of everything the

lecturer was saying, and it made the

class run a bit late.

I was like, gee, this guy making me run

late in the rest of my day.

But, but now, like, now that I know

Bonito and know who he is, I know that's

him throwing himself fully into the

things that he does and the things that

he cares about.

uh yeah and throw himself full into that

with others as well.

And these are the things that I've

learned most from Bonito.

But these two things come with one key

characteristic and that's love. So thank

you for loving deeply Bonito and

teaching me what it looks like to love

others really well. You shared from

Romans 12 earlier and I'll jump a bit

later in the passage where it says don't

just pretend to love others. really love

them, hate what is wrong, hold tightly

to what is good, love each other with

genuine affection, and take delight in

honoring others. I know that God has uh

great things planned for you guys in

Victor Harour and and what that looks

like, you know, we don't know um but as

your family grows there as um just know

that we're we're all praying for you.

I'm praying for you and yeah, you're not

a stranger to here and um I think the

poor church is who it is or what it is

because of you guys and the part you've

played in it. So, thanks for that.

>> All right, now we get to hear from some

young people. So, let's uh get around

them.

family and have been more than just

youth leaders to me. They've always been

a constant source of kindness, strength,

and encouragement during some of the

hardest moments I faced this year.

They've always knew how to listen

without judgment, offer guidance when I

felt lost, and reminded me of my worth

when things felt overwhelming. Their

genuine care, patience, and belief in me

made my youth group feel like a safe

place, and I'll always be grateful for

the time we share. Even though it's hard

to see them leave for another youth

group, their impact in my life will stay

with me and I'll carry the lessons and

support they gave me wherever I go.

Um, so I've been a youth for a long time

um I would say and um even that

transition between when Bonito took over

the youth group

um and we all got to know him better as

we went on a retreat together and that

was one of my very treasured good

memories. It's ingrained in my brain.

Um, thank you, Bonito, for all you have

done. You've never failed to be

compassionate, kind, and gracious

towards the kids at youth. Um, and as

well as myself. Um, you've always

understood me and tried to accommodate

me as best I can. Um, you do mean a lot

to me and this church and the youth

group. And Emily, obviously you came in

um a few years ago and it's been

absolutely wonderful getting to know

you. You are a very special and sweet

person. Um and I think you are very a

great pairing and I'm really happy that

you're going to venture off into this

new chapter together. Um just point

blank, I love you guys very much. So

thank you.

Um, all I can say is this year has been

such a roller coaster ride. All the

bads, all the goods. But at least it was

good to know you knowing that church was

as great with you as with Emily and that

you were encouraged by God and others to

keep that positivity and make your way

through life. You're

>> probably proud.

But um yeah, at least life is going to

be better. You get to start life all

over again, get to know new people, and

you can continue keeping that

positivity.

Um I've been going to this church for a

while. not really like the church

services, but this church being very

local to where I live. Um I've been here

quite a few times with my family over

the years and um like ever since I was I

think very young, I've been waiting to

attend the youth group here. That's it's

really cool. I think all of the youth

enjoy going there. But um

yeah um I just know that Emily like in

my short time here Emily and Bino have

actually taught me many things things

that I didn't think

would uh happen. They've

like

I know that I've never felt judged when

um talking to them about things in our

lives and

like it's been really

relieving and it's such a blessing to

know that um they've that they're always

going to be there for us even when we're

struggling. And I know that the rest of

the youth group feels that way, too. And

uh yeah, it's been really a blessing to

have you guys. I know that you'll uh

never judge us. You'll be there for us.

you've uh

yeah, you just been really kind to all

the youth group and uh I just know that

we all really appreciate that and we all

love you.

All right, I'm going to lead it out.

It's the oldest on the youth team.

That's me. Sorry, sir. I feel like I'm

blocking you off. Um

these guys are really summed it up

better than any of us adults could, I

reckon. Um, you guys have just loved

with your heart on your sleeve. And

Jordan thought she was going to cry.

Okay.

Yeah. Just been a beacon of who Christ

is for this community in such practical

ways. Um,

I in my life as an older part of

Bonito's family have

had a real the blessing and the

privilege of seeing that track from when

he was like this tall and you couldn't

get a soccer ball off him and he was

going to youth. Um, and then I led

beside him as he became a young adult

and was on the youth team together

siblings.

Um, and then have served under him and

Uh, I couldn't I rode him a car the

other day and I couldn't name all the

ways that um God has helped me learn and

stretch by leading beside him. And then

you guys together at the end um we've

been places with young people at 4 in

the morning making sure that they're

okay and have rocked up with them and

bought them hot chips and all the things

that you do in life with people. These

two have done. Um yeah, just to show not

just the young people of our community,

but anyone in our community how valuable

they are and how love are. And I think

um yeah, I don't think any of us could

say enough words to express how proud of

you we are, how much we love you, and

how much God has used you to um yeah,

just affect people beyond what even we

can see. So hopefully that makes sense.

Emotional here, but we love you lots.

Um,

just before I finish, um, we can't get

everybody up individually. We'd be here

all day for a service, but we have put,

um, a care book over in the corner. So,

I know there's lots of people that would

have an encouragement or, you know, just

want to say farewell to them. So, please

throughout the after the service is

finished, head over there. There's

pictures, cameras to take pictures, um,

pens to write them a message. Let's send

them off with love with something that

reminds them wherever they are how love

they are here as our family. Um and I'm

just going to ask these guys to stay

here because we're gonna we want you to

help. Yes. Sam's going to go. Yes. Cool.

Just wait here at the end because we're

getting you're going to pray for us with

them. Yeah. Help us pray for them. So

here's Sam.

>> All right. Uh here we go. I haven't

planned anything. So this is going to be

a spaghetti uh speech, but here we go.

Um so as many of you know I have been at

this church for a while and I came to or

I came to know about this church um

through the youth group here now. Um

back in back in the day uh the guy the

youth pastor leader was a guy named

James James Morgan. I feel like many of

you would know who he is and you know

Bonita was just a leader at the time. I

don't know who did was were you were you

lead at the time when he Yeah, you were

leading. Sorry, I just

it's all right. Moving on. And like

Bonito was actually probably or he was

the first leader like I met at youth. I

think I've me I've told told many of you

this story, but I remember like the

first time in my head probably my

strongest memory of Bonito is him

meeting me for the first time. Now I

know nowadays youth food is free but at

the time the lollies were like was it

like a dollar or something and I was I I

just assume they were free. I had opened

the container and was touching all of

them. I was sorting which one to see

what which I liked and then Bonita came

up to me like are you going to pay for

that?

And like I was scared of him for like

two months after that. And then and then

with time like yeah um I got to know him

better and as you know um James moved to

Melbourne and Bonito um took over uh

youth. So you know I think from 2020 on

that's when I actually got like super

into youth and that's when like yeah I

got to know more about Bonito and more

about you know uh his love for us. Again

not many of you may know but I am a bit

of a control freak. I do like I like to

know that everything in my situation,

everything right in front of me is like

exactly how I want it. I don't I don't

like to be surprised by if that makes

sense. And like especially from 2020 on

like being with Fonito, having as having

him as my leader, like he truly taught

me what trusting God looks like. You

know, I'm still working on it today. I

still want to know everything that's

going to happen before it happens. But

yeah, like thank you, Bonito, for really

teaching me what it looks like to trust

in God, to actually let go of

um what I can control. And I'm still

struggling with this, but just to let go

of what I can control and just, you

know, know that he is the one that has

Yeah. He can Yeah. he he's in control of

everything and that with him um we do

not need to worry. Yeah. And yeah

uh and uh for Emily, you know, again, my

relationship with you is, you know, not

not as long as as it has been with

Bonito, but like you know, you really

are, you know, a blessing in your own

way as well. And you know, I'm very like

especially over this year, as many of

you would know what has happened. like I

just really appreciate you checking up

with me like every Friday like you know

it seems so small but you know I'm very

thankful to you as well and like I have

no doubt that you two will continue to

uh bless those in Victor Harour as you

know this church has been blessed you

know over the many years thank YOU

um we're going to pray for these guys

now um if any other youth want to come

up and You don't have to share. You can

just stand with them, but come and pray

with them. If any others, if you all

want to stand with us right now, we as

Wanita said, we could um go on and I'm

sure lots of adults would love to say

thanks to Bonito and Emily, but around

lunch, you got plenty of opportunity to

do that. You can write something in the

care book uh to say thank you. And uh

otherwise, we'd be here till 3 or 4 or

later. So, um, give them your thanks.

Uh, but I'm going to hand over to

Matthew and he's going to lead us in

prayer. So, why don't you reach your

hands forward.

Oh Lord, we do thank you for this time.

We thank you

for this time that you've known for a

long time. It's it's part of your big

plan for Bonito and Emily. We thank you

for uh for them. We thank you for their

heart for community. We thank you for

their heart for young people. And we

thank you for the work that you're doing

in their life.

We just want to thank you for their

season here as it comes to a close,

their season of leadership, their season

of uh authority in this place. And we

just want to pray a blessing on them as

they depart from here as they go forth

to Victor Harour. We pray pray that uh

you be with them as they as they move

and in all the situations they find

themselves in that you will be with them

and guiding them and and watching over

them. We love them and and they'll

always call this place home as as this

is their their growing place and their

learning place and their place of uh

their first steps. But we bless them as

they go forward in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen.

Thank you. Thank you, young people.

We're going to move. We're going to

move. Yeah, you two stay there for a

second. But, uh, young people, thank

you. Um, we're just going to do We got a

gift on behalf of the church. So, what

we're going to bring that forward. Dan's

got it. Dan the flower bearer.

Um

Dan Dan the flower man and on on behalf

of uh the church uh on behalf of CLT and

all that we just want to say thank you.

I have got a few words and then I'll

then we'll get through. I just uh wrote

some brief things. Uh thank you for

sitting in hospital emergency rooms.

Thank you for long drives. Thank you for

sitting in broken spaces.

Thank you for times of joy. Thank you

for celebration. for loving those on the

margins, for being Jesus in those

communities, and for standing in the

gap.

Thank you for bold love, for running

head first into everything sometimes

without thinking. For transformation,

for community, for each other.

Thank you for boldness and courage to

take next steps. And thank you for

trusting him in everything.

Um, as we we've all said it, we've all

said it. Uh we love these guys and we

thank them for their service and their

commitment to this place. Uh we thank

you for the times that you've spent here

and it's not goodbye, it's just see you

later. Um they're just a couple hours up

the road. So they'll be around the place

I'm sure. But uh we just we just bless

you. We thank you for them. And uh yeah,

I'm sure everyone agrees. And yeah, get

around them later on.