Online Church Resources

Welcome

Prayer

Our gracious and loving Father, we know that when you speak you give us life. We know that when our time comes, you will speak again, and death will also be ours. You owe us nothing and yet you give us every joy and delight. You have placed our lives before your eyes and so rightly bring into judgement everything we do. 

You who are holy in your love, righteous in your grace, merciful in your kindness, draw us near and make us who we are today. You bring about your good in all circumstances, so when evil threatens to drown this world you withhold it and bring light into the darkness of our world.  

Our glorious light, King Jesus. Brother, God and friend. Who has given us the life and love we so desperately need. We rejoice in the freedom of your light.

You are full of mercy, you come to us who wander away and so we know we are forgiven. 

You are our refuge and our safe place in this evil world and so we are your refugee’s.

You are our great Shepherd who lays down your life for us the sheep, and so I know I belong wholly and completely to your flock

You are our great Redeemer and so have bought us with a price and so we belong to you. Your servant, bound to you for life, in Your fullness.

You are our husband, full of love that sacrifices all, so I know that I am married to you and that one day I will see you as my Husband and Heavenly king, full of love, kindness and tenderness towards me.

Holy Spirit, bringer of life, hope and joy into my heart. You have awoken my heart to see the glories and majesty of God. You who have caused my heart to be born again into a new and living hope. You have drawn me to the broken man on a cross. You have caused me to be made whole and bring the promise of never being forsaken into a daily truth that I get to hold onto. You have caused my heart to cry out Abba Father and to know the work of Jesus in my life. Your work brings the pain of repentance and the joy of faith in my life and so I worship you and thank you for this, your work. You are good, mighty and glorious. Lead us to bow our knees with joy and freedom.

Holy God, loving in all your ways. There is no shadow of turning with you. Draw us ever closer. Give us the joy that this world can never bring. Fill our hearts with the power of Jesus’ resurrection and the joy of His suffering, so we might know what it is to walk well before You, before others and ourselves.

Please Lord, do your work in us your church here at Campbelltown, for our good and Your Glory.

Amen

Sermon

Bible Reading: Zechariah 2:1-13

Suggested Songs

Welcome

Prayer

Father God, this Christmas let us hear and be strengthened by the word of God:
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined  Isaiah 9:2

When the wise men saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy  Matthew 2:10

The angel says to the shepherds – “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people” Luke 2:10

The apostle John says  – We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands…this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it  1 John !:1

Mary says – “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”  Luke 1:46-47

Father God, we thank you for the significance of the coming of your Son into the world
We don’t have to live with fear and bitterness
We don’t have to live with guilt and shame
We don’t have to live with paralysing loneliness

Jesus’ coming gives us the opportunity to start again – to live a new life
Only He can incline our hearts towards God
Only He can convince us in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that the Scriptures are true
Only He can move us to respond to the Gospel

Mary had the courage to pray this prayer: 
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word” 
Maybe we have never prayed that prayer
Father, give us the grace to humble ourselves with Mary

Thank you for the day you confronted me with the utter futility of my own achievement
Forgive us for all those times when we have exalted in our own achievement, rather than resting in the achievement of your Son
Nothing we can do can compare with what you have done for us in Christ

We pray for those who are living in turmoil, for people groups who are being persecuted, and for deprived and disadvantaged people who are crying out for justice

Thank you God for showing us your heart and for revealing your compassion 

This Christmas open our eyes to the significance of the coming of your Son into the world

May the nations come to know that you alone are God. Amen

Kids Church

Sermon

Bible Reading: Philippians 4:10-23

Suggested Songs

Welcome

Prayer Guide

Do you struggle to pray? Is it that your words seem limited and frustrated? Do you feel guilty about the little time you pray? Is there an issue of busyness or tiredness that gets in the way? Do you long for today to be better than yesterday as you pray? How can I do this better?

Firstly, we stand and kneel to pray from a place of Grace and know that God is actively involved in our prayer. Romans 8 is a great reminder that our comfort comes from God Himself. As you read Romans 8 keep an eye out on how the Holy Spirit works for us. See how He groans with and for us (Romans 8:26 – 27); how He gives us security (8:14); how He deals with our fears and then causes our hearts to cry out (8:15), and emboldens us to ask and wait for Jesus’ return. It is the work of God in us that helps us to pray. So, reflect on Romans 8, on what you have in Jesus and in what the Holy Spirit is doing as you pray. 

Secondly, it might help to use other people’s words. Psalms are often a good place to take inspiration from in praying. As pastors I know we have all benefited from studying the psalms during this time of Covid. Take time to read a psalm before you pray, take time to think slowly about how David must have felt as he wrote this, what truths is he holding onto? Consider an ancient faithful Israelite living in the Bronze and Iron Age, facing weak Israelite rulers or hostile foreign kings or in exile, where food and security are scarce. How might these words have been helpful? Then consider Jesus singing these psalms as He grew up and as an adult. How might Jesus have sung or reflected on the psalms as they referred to him? It is because of Jesus that these words can then become ours. So, think and pray as these words become yours.

Lastly. Books on prayer from EM Bounds, Peter Marshall and old hymn books (Methodists and Presbyterian) can be helpful guides to prayer that will cause your heart to sing. Another good resource would be the Valley of Vision, and this website: https://eternallifeministries.org/prayers.htm

Here is an idea from this website on confession that I have found helpful:

I thank You that many of my prayers have been refused. I have asked amiss and do not have, I have prayed from lusts and been rejected, I have longed for Egypt and been given a wilderness. Go on with Your patient work, answering ‘no’ to my wrongful prayers, and fitting me to accept it. Purge me from every false desire, every base aspiration, everything contrary to Your rule. I thank You for Your wisdom and Your love, for all the acts of discipline to which I am subject, for sometimes putting me into the furnace to refine my gold and remove my dross.

No trial is so hard to bear as a sense of sin. If You should give me choice to live in pleasure and keep my sins, or to have them burnt away with trial, give me sanctified affliction. Deliver me from every evil habit, every accretion of former sins, everything that dims the brightness of Your grace in me, everything that prevents me taking delight in You. Then I shall bless You, God of jeshurun, for helping me to be upright.

So then how do we put all of this together? 

• We begin by taking time to reflect on how limited your words are, confess sin and be still. 
• Read Romans 8 and know what you have in these verses. Take time to turn these words into your words. Ask the Holy Spirit to groan for you, to comfort you and to help you to pray
• Reflect on a Psalm and pray
• Use a hymn book to sing, praise God and reflect
• Read on an old prayer then pray

Kids Church

New CCBC Kids Songs

Sermon

Bible Reading: Philippians 4:1-9

Rachel Wilson: Testimony

Rachel Wilson share’s her story of dealing with lament, grief and confusion when life unfolded in unexpected ways. Eight years down the line, she can see the goodness of God being revealed in a story she would never have chosen. It is so encouraging to see how the hope that comes from the gospel enables us to experience the goodness of God and the utter reliability of the Rock of Ages in our most difficult seasons of life. Here is the video:

Suggested Songs