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All right. Well, you may have already heard the accent. You're probably like, who is this random girl we've never seen before? Well, yes, my name is Katie. My husband Mason is here on the front row with me, so you can welcome Mason. And my kids are already in kids. They came in and went straight to climbing the trees out the front. That's when you know you're with family, right? There should be a photo that comes up behind so you can just see my family and a little bit about me. I came to Australia 19 years ago as a 19-year-old to do Hillsong College. And I came excited for a year of adventure with God, and I am still here, which is amazing. Yes, and um what I love to say is that I am American by birth, Australian by choice. Anyone else? Australian by choice here. A few of you, okay, amazing. And um, as Hamus shared, I get to have I have an incredible privilege and honor of looking after discipleship for our church. And it's an incredible and um weighty responsibility that I absolutely am so grateful for. And so today I'm gonna share a message that hopefully can relate to all of us. That's my goal, is when I come here, I'm not here, um, I'm not an expert in in any way, shape, or form. I am on a journey with you. And um, I'll share a little bit about me so that way we can kind of get to know each other a little bit. But I grew up in Colorado, USA, a beautiful, beautiful part of the world. And I actually didn't realize how beautiful it was until I left. You normally, that normally happens, right? You take it for granted. And um when people ask me, oh, what do you miss about Colorado? The two things, of course, one are the people, my family, but two, the Colorado landscape. Um, if you've never been able to experience it, it is absolutely incredible. Incredible rocky mountains, um, beautiful landscapes, and especially the trees. There is a type of tree in Colorado called the aspen tree. Has anyone ever seen an aspen tree before? Okay, they are this beautiful tree that in autumn they turn like a bright golden color and then it moves into like this deep orange red. It's absolutely beautiful. The other thing I love about Colorado is that we get cold, snowy winters. Anyone love snow here? Okay, tell me, raise your hand if you have not seen snow before. There are a few people, yes. Well, what I love in Colorado is the snowy mountains, but also the truth, the snowy trees. When the snow falls on the pine trees, it is absolutely beautiful. And so speaking of trees, I do love a good uh tree. I love the jacarandas here in Australia. Absolutely gorgeous. Um, I also love the wattle, the Australian wattle. I love that even driving through here, I can see some of the golden wattles starting to bloom, and it's absolutely beautiful. And I think that God loves trees too. Many Bible scholars have pointed that apart from God and people, trees are mentioned more than any other living thing in the Word of God. In fact, there is a tree on the first page of Genesis and a tree on the last page of Revelation. And so today I am going to uh talk about trees. You are not here for a science lesson, I know, um, but I will be using trees today to help uh take us on a journey. Are you ready for that? Okay, let me pray and we will get into it. Father God, I thank you that you are already here. We acknowledge you, Holy Spirit, and we say, come have your way. Father God, as we open up the word, as we learn, Lord Jesus, I pray that our hearts would be opened, our ears would be opened, our eyes would be opened to receiving from you today. May each one of us leave this place changed, encouraged, challenged to continue on our journey of discipleship. We love you, Jesus. We give this to you in your mighty name. Amen. Okay, why don't you turn with me to the book of Jeremiah, starting in uh we're gonna do chapter 17, starting in verse 5. It should uh come up on the screens behind me. This is what the Lord says cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh, and whose hearts turn away from the Lord. That person will be like a shrub in wastelands. They will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert in a salt land where no one lives. Okay, a bit of a brutal first scripture, but come with me on a journey. Um, looking at this scripture, some translations render that the shrub that is mentioned here is a tamarisk tree. Everyone say tamarisk. A photo should come up yet behind me. This is a tamarisk tree. And whichever plant that Jeremiah has in mind, the picture here is really deliberate. A tree here, this tamarisk, is built to survive solely on its own. Tamarisks are famous for sending roots not down deep into water, but they spread wide and shallow. And actually, what happens is they pull the salt that is out of the ground through the roots, through the branches, and it actually puts the salt onto the leaves. And what actually happens in that whole process, it actually poisons the soil around the tree so nothing else can grow nearby. It's a tree, it's built for self-sufficiency. It doesn't need a stream, it doesn't need anything, anyone. It provides a cooling shade because of that salt, which is which is nice, but it's at the expense of everything around it. Now let's continue in Jeremiah. We're at 17, we've just read five and six. Let's go on to verse seven. But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Now, incredible, this here. It's the same chapter, same author, but two very different trees, two very different outcomes. Now, talking with Hamish, he shared that last week he was talking about how our identity actually leads to formation. Who you are, who you are becoming. That's exactly what these trees, what they're showing us. The tamarisk isn't cursed because it, you know, didn't try hard enough. It's cursed because of where it's planted and how it's planted. And the tree that is planted by the water isn't blessed because it's worked hard for it. It's actually blessed because of where it's planted and how it's planted. Identity, then formation. A quote will come up behind me. This is from Dallas Willard, an incredible theologian, author. And he puts it like this disciples are those who seriously intending to become like Jesus from the inside out, formation, systematically and progressively rearrange their affairs to that end under the guidance of the word and the spirit. And so we have this contrast, Jeremiah 17, 5 and 6 of that tamarisk shrub, and also 7, 8, that tree that is planted by living water, whose leaves are evergreen and bearing fruit. For us, we need to consider which tree are we today? Are we, where are we planted? How are we planted? And so if you are taking notes, the title of my message today is Gather, Grow, Go. Words you may have seen before. Now, if you've been around church, um, if you've grown up in church, these are not fancy new concepts. Gather, grow, go. We you may have seen it as you walked in the door. We have a big sign that has pathways. Gather, grow, go. Maybe it feels like another kind of Christian slogan. You know, a checklist. Yeah, I gather, I come to church, I grow, yes, I read my Bible, I go, yes, I'm helping and contributing in some way. But here's the tension. When gather, grow, go just becomes a checklist or a set of tasks, we're actually turning discipleship into a program or a performance, and we actually are closing the door to all the opportunities God has for us. We start asking, am I doing enough? Or, you know, have I done the right things? Have I ticked the box? When really we can, should, we can and should be asking the question, who am I becoming? We've heard Pastor Phil talk about this often. I'm sure we've heard it here at Hillsong Newcastle of who am I becoming? Who are we becoming? And the question under everything today that we talk about is, is your life with Christ more like the tamarisk? You know, spread wide, self-sufficient, or are you like the tree that is planted by living water? Surviving, prospering, different things. And so, how do we know if we're just ticking the box or doing the thing that we need to do? Or how do we know that we're actually living a life that is flourishing? I'm glad you asked. We're gonna look at it in the Bible. We're gonna look at Jesus. Why don't you turn with me to Matthew 4.18? Matthew 4, 18, and it says this, and Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers. Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother. Do we have any Peters and Andrews in the house? A few. Popular name, great name. Peter and Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed him. Now notice here what Jesus didn't say. He didn't say, Hey, go do something great and then come and find me. He didn't say, Hey, I need you to upskill yourself, go to school, do all the things, and then we'll talk. He didn't say that. He said, Come follow me first. And so I want us to give you, I want to give you a kind of working definition that will be the basis of this message. And it is a working definition of discipleship. Okay. So a slide will come up behind me. Where in this scripture it says, come follow me. Jesus, what is he doing? He's asking us to gather alongside each other and with Jesus. Come follow me. Then he says, I will make you. That is a statement of change and transformation. We need to grow to become more like him. And then it says, I will make you what? Fishers of men. He gave them a mission. He was giving them a mandate, a call to go. We go into the world on mission as followers of Jesus. And when we go on this journey of our identity first being found in Christ, our journey of formation then starts to reflect this. Gather, grow, go. And so what does this mean today? I love that we can look at the Bible. We can look at Jesus because he modeled this beautifully. Think about it. Think of all the Bible stories you know of Jesus. What did he do? He gathered with crowds, with large crowds, with small crowds, with a single few. He used truth. He used testing to grow them. And then what did he do? He sent them out to go and make disciples, to go and bear fruit. And our invitation today is that Jesus calls us into the exact same thing. And so what we're going to do is we're going to continue on this tree theme. Does anyone love science? I hope, okay. I'm really sorry if you don't, but just go with me because trees are beautiful and they are a great analogy. So we're going to look at this. What does this look like for us? The first thing is we're going to break this down, gather. Gather. And we're going to look at the redwood. Now, I am American, so my family, they all live in America. My brother lives in California. And in one of our visits, um, quite early on, 2016, we got to go to a beautiful redwood forest. Maybe you've experienced the sequoia before. These trees are towering tall, like so tall. And I walked into this beautiful forest, and you could see the light shining through the trees, similar to this image here. The shadows on the floor were like they were dancing, and it was kind of damp smelling, but it was almost magical. You know, those moments where you walk into a forest and it's like you don't want to make a noise because it's so beautiful. And I remember just being amazed as I looked up to these towering trees, thinking, wow, look at this creation. There is a book uh called The Hidden Life of Trees. Yes, we've got we're going there. And the author, his name is Peter Wallenben. And he has spent his entire life studying trees and the beauty and the intricacy of trees. And I want to share some highlights from that book with you today. Is that okay? You can bring this to your work tomorrow. You can look really awesome giving some tree facts if you're going to work or to school tomorrow. You can be like, hey, guess what? Did you know? First one, the roots in particular forests are connected underground by a thread-like fungi, which almost creates like this network. Do you want to know what the network is called? Woodwide web. Sorry. We're gonna have fun in church. We might as well have fun in church. But they have this connected fungi underground, like this thread-like fungi connecting the trees together. Another fun fact: trees share carbon, water, and nutrients. They share it with each other. So when there is a tree that is in need, through that wood-wide web, they can pass those nutrients like carbon and water to each other. A dying tree will often gift its remaining nutrients to its neighboring tree. Wow. And we know that a seedling connected to a network is far more likely to survive than one that is cut off from it, who's left on its own to survive. Now that's some fun facts, but also let's keep coming back to the Bible. Acts 2 gives us the most beautiful picture of gathering, of community. It says they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. And so when we're talking about gathering, we are talking about the beauty of community. And Jesus, he gave us this blueprint. He gathered with thousands on a hillside, preaching, teaching, doing miracles. But then he would go into the temples where there was large groups, maybe hundreds. But not only then, he would then go into homes where there'd be groups of tens, twenties, thirties, and minister in homes. We know that he had his 12 disciples, but not only his 12, he then had his closest three, Peter, James, and John. And not only that, we can read over and over again that Jesus would go on his own to a solitary place to spend one-on-one time with God the Father. From thousands to hundreds to ten, to twelve, you know, hundreds to twelve to three to one. An incredible blueprint for us of what healthy community looks like. Let's go back to the redwood tree, just like these trees. They need community, we need community. I want you to picture your life like a tree. And if you were to cut the trunk of a tree, if you've seen anyone cut the trunk of a tree horizontally, you would see these beautiful tree rings. Has anyone seen tree rings before? And each ring tells a story of a season. In the same way, our spiritual life is shaped in layers of community. A picture will come up behind me of tree rings. Now, this is just for you to get a gauge. Don't get stuck on the name or the number here, but I want to give us a visual experience of community. We know that at the very core of what it means to follow Jesus is a relationship with God. Your personal relationship with Him. That core, that divine core is the very center of our relationship. But then we are called to have a close community, people who you can do real life with, the ones that probably know you better than you know yourself, where there are no masks, no facades, they see you in your pajamas, you can do a make a call at 3 a.m., those types of people, that close community. That was Peter, James, and John for Jesus. But then we have connected, and that is where you have a group of people where you do life with. This could be your connect group. This could be the people that you do everyday life with. And they're the ones where you can do the good seasons and the bad seasons knowing you're doing it together. Not only that, that is when we have what is called our communal space. This is like the beautiful things like sisterhood and our age groups, our youth, our kids, when we do uh courses together, kind of those third spaces where we come together with a common goal. It's important for us to rub shoulders with people who are going in the same direction as us. And then, of course, the congregated. This right here is an example of that, where we come together. And you might not know everyone, but we are all lifting up the name of Jesus together. Men's conference, that's our congregated space. And I love that Jesus He modeled this for us. He gave us the blueprint of what beautiful, healthy church community looks like. Now I remember when I first came to Australia, and like I said, I was 19, I was excited, but I was also very scared. And I remember going to my first Connect group, and I was nervous, I didn't know what that was gonna feel like, and and I remember getting there, and I didn't know them, they didn't know me, but what I do remember is how I felt. It was a space where I actually felt like I belonged. It was a space where they were actually genuinely interested in me and in my relationship with Jesus. And that's the core of community is that we actually can do life together. The trunk of your tree, if we're looking at that, those rings, that The trunk of that tree is so important when it comes to your discipleship with Jesus. How you place yourself in community matters. But we know that it's not just about the trunk. We need to go down deeper and look at the roots. Okay. The next tree we're going to look at is the wild fig. We're going to look at grow. So we've just went through gather. Now we're going to move to grow. Now the wild fig is a tree in South Africa. It's in a place called Echo Caves. I want to go there. That sounds fun. Echo Caves in South Africa. And this tree holds the record for the deepest tree roots ever documented. Roughly 120 meters, 400 feet. Crazy deep. And the wild fig actually it often germinates in cracks in cliffs and rock faces. And over time, their roots are so strong that they can slowly fracture solid stone. Wow. Reason being they can push deeper in search of soil and water below. Now I think that's an incredible picture for us. We know that when we think about roots and trees, no root system is the same with two trees. It's unique to every tree, as is our discipleship journey is unique. Every single one of us have a unique journey with Jesus. But we do know that every root system has some of the same essential things, purpose, function. The roots, part of their job is to anchor the tree, right? It's to absorb water and nutrients. The roots are there to store energy for different seasons that are to come. And also the roots are there and it explore and expands for new growth. It looks for new growth. They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon, planted in the house of the Lord. They will flourish in the courts of our God. The health of a tree's root system determines the flourishing you see above ground. Another scripture here, Colossians 2, verse 6 says, And now just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. Verse 7, let your roots go down into Him and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Everyone say roots. Growing our roots is part of our discipleship journey to Jesus. And what I love that when we look at trees and their root systems, it's not that at one point the root system just stops and says, I'm done. No, the roots continue to grow, to explore, to absorb, to uh store energy. And it is the same for us in our relationship with Jesus. It is a lifelong journey of growing. Lifelong journey. You know, there are actually many things, but specifically four things that I believe, but regardless of where we are on our faith journey, maybe you haven't even made a decision yet. I'm gonna give you time at the end to make a decision to start that journey. Or maybe you've been following Jesus a very long time. Can I encourage you? Don't stop growing. Because we can continue to grow in knowing God more intentionally. We will never stop knowing Him. We will never know Him completely. It is an ongoing journey of knowing God. It's an ongoing journey of growing in our holiness, meaning living a life that is set apart, that is sanctified, that is consecrated before God, that is looking beyond ourselves and living a life that is pleasing to Him. We never stop learning what it means to live in authentic community. That gathering is an ongoing journey. And lastly, we never stop growing when it comes to living on mission, participating in God's work. But here's what the wild fig also teaches us Roots don't only bring health for a tree when everything is going according to plan. Roots are the very thing that keeps a tree upright when the storm comes. And a wild fig's roots, they don't just go deep by accident, they go deep because the tree demands it, knowing the circumstances around it, the cliffs, the rock, the storm, the drought, the unstable terrain that that tree faces. And so for us, we know that life isn't always a sunny day. We have the storms that come. We have challenge that comes. I love this morning when Hamish was praying full of faith for things like cancer, for healing, for redemption, for reconciliation, these things. Uh, we know that pain and suffering are a part of our world, but we also know that they are not from God. There are moments in those uh situations, in those storms, where we actually can see it as an invitation to grow deeper in Him. Growth is about becoming. But becoming often happens in places we can't see or with pressure we don't always choose. I'm gonna share a quote with Tim Keller, another incredible pastor, theologian, author, speaker, all amazing things from Tim Keller. It says this suffering is at the very heart of the Christian faith. It is not only the way Christ became like us and redeemed us, but it is also one of the main ways we become like him and experience his redemption. That's challenging. Think about bamboo. I'm giving you a lot of analogies, guys. We're going there. But it spends years and years building a root system underground, completely unseen. Then suddenly it shoots up meters a day. Some of us, your deepest growth might be happening right now, while you are in a dark season, when you are being tested, while you are having to anchor your roots down as the wind blows and the storm comes. But it's in those moments where soon enough that storm will pass and you will have strong, healthy roots for you to flourish and grow. We're called to gather in different types of communities. We're told, we're we're called to grow, having strong, deep roots. Now let's look at last one. Go, amazing. A picture of a mandarin tree will come up behind me. And um, I have to give a shout out to Kylie and Noah Transer, who are here. They're in this front row, because seven years ago, these beautiful people, close friends of ours, gave us a lemon tree and a mandarin tree. I'm just gonna focus on mandarin for the sake of the analogy. Mandarin tree, as we bought our first house. It was a gift, and um we got to plant this beautiful mandarin tree, and um it was a special moment, and I was so excited to have fresh mandarins in my backyard. But for the first three years, there was nothing. No fruit, not one piece of fruit, and I was so impatient. I'm like, God, why are this why is this tree not giving any fruit? Just a tree sitting there. It was beautiful, it was looking like it was doing all the right things, but nothing was being produced until one year, one winter, three years later, after the long process of the soil being tended to, the roots growing down deep, the fruit came. Yes. And now it produces tons of mandarins. I feel like one winter, I think we counted over 200 mandarins, an incredible fruit. And it is sweet and juicy, and it's one of my favorite memories of seeing my little girls run into the backyard, pick a mandarin tree, peel it, and all the juice and seeds running down their little gummy fingers. The mandarin tree has brought us so much enjoyment. And we all know that fruit trees, they don't just produce fruit for that tree to enjoy, it is for others to benefit and enjoy. John chapter 15, verse 16 says, I appoint, I appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit. Fruit that will last. Also, Matthew 28, 19, part of the Great Commission, Jesus' last words before he ascended said, Go and make disciples of all nations. And here's where all four trees finally meet. The tamarisk tree survives but never really prospers. It never bears fruit worth mentioning because it's never planted itself near anything that uh is good or causes any good around it. We know that the red root the redwood stands for centuries because it's interlocked with each other. That wild fig shows that us that hidden growth is still growth, even when the storms come. And the mandarin tree shows us that the part we cannot forget, that formation looks like going. And by that I mean others are called to taste and see the fruit of the lives that are that is producing, that they are experiencing Jesus from how we live and how we love. We're not just invited to follow Jesus, we're actually commissioned to represent him. And going, it takes on many forms. We say the word go, and you're like, yeah, yeah, I'll go. Where am I going? What am I doing? But can I make it simple for us today? Two ways that we're called to go is through serving and through sharing. What do I mean by that? Serving those around you, your family, your friends, your colleagues, this beautiful church community. You can serve this beautiful community through many different ways. So this is about giving of yourself in in hopes of helping and benefiting others. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this won't come up, but it says the church is the church only when it exists for others, not dominating, but helping and serving. We are called to serve. And also we are called to share. And that looks like sharing your story, sharing what God is doing in your life, sharing at a table, opening up your home, a table, a meal, sharing the gospel, the good news, sharing encouragement, giving someone a word or praying for someone, sharing your faith with others. I'm gonna ask the worship team if they can come on up. We're gonna finish up here. And so we are called to this beautiful journey of gathering, of growing, of going, coming back to the tree. All three parts must work together to thrive. If we gather without growing deeper in Christ, what do we risk? Being a social club. We might as well just go to the RSL. I love the RSL. Best chicken schnitzel ever. But that's what we risk. And what that looks like is really just a stick in the ground with no roots. Now, if we grow, but we're doing it in isolation, we might mature a little bit. Yes, your one-on-one relationship with Jesus is crucial. But without community, you are going to miss out on all the richness that comes from coming together with one another. And if we try and bear fruit, try really hard to produce great things without abiding in Jesus, we are on the verge of burnout. Jesus says in John 15 that a branch cannot bear fruit by itself. We know that Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, He is the vine. We are the branches. We must remain in Him to bear fruit. And so we gather, we grow, we go. This is a rhythm, a beautiful rhythm of a life that looks like us as purpose-filled Jesus followers. And so, my invitation, my question for you today, why don't you go ahead and actually just close your eyes for a minute? I want to take space for you to actually just reflect right now on this word. I want you to think about these three things. Gather, grow, and go. My first question for you today is Are you planted in healthy community? Consider those tree rings again. If you were to look at your own life, where do you place yourself? Have you intentionally developed great friendships that you can do life with? What does community really mean to you and look like in your life? Secondly, are you putting your roots down deep? How are you putting your roots down deep? And consider the season you're in. If it is a dark season, if it's a stormy season, can you see God at work in you even in that moment? And lastly, are you serving and sharing with others the fruit of your life? My encouragement for you today is to say yes to gather, to be interlocked with the followers of Jesus, not self-sufficient, but leaning on each other. Saying yes to growing, trusting that even in the hidden seasons, it's not to be rushed, but God is still growing and moving in your life. Saying yes to go. Let the fruit be evidence, not effort. You can open up your eyes. I'm just gonna share a quick story. There's a friend of mine, her name is Shine. She's part of the campus that I go to in Greater Western Sydney. And her story is a beautiful one. It actually starts with going to the gym. We love those people. And she had a friend, her name was Sammy, and Sammy was getting to know a group of girls. She actually invited them to church. And Sinee was one of them. She's like, why not? I have nothing else to do on a Sunday morning. So she came along with her friend. And she found herself in church. Now, Sinee, she's a mom of two, and she carries a very complicated and painful upbringing. She grew up with a father who was involved in gangs and in drugs, in and out of prison. And she had never stepped in church before, and she had no understanding about God. But one Sunday she she came with her friend Sammy. And in that morning, God captured her heart and she was radically saved. And something awakened in her spirit. And soon after she started going to Alpha. And Alpha was such a beautiful place for her. It was a place where she could ask questions. And she wasn't being judged. She didn't have to know it all. It was a place of great discussion. She was hungry to learn. And that's where she really built a foundation of what it meant to follow Jesus. After Alpha, she joined a Connect group. And it was the group of girls from the gym. They decided to get together before the gym session, early in the morning to read their Bible. And that's where she found healthy community, a safe space. She uh, I remember one Sunday PM service, my husband was leading the crew meeting. And he actually, Shinee was there. He actually asked her if she could pray in crew meeting, and you could see her eyes. This was gonna be the first time she would ever pray out loud. But our team rallied behind her and she prayed and she fumbled over her words, and the second she finished praying, we all erupted in cheers because we knew how important that moment was for her. Little by little we could see her life changing. Get emotional. Her roots were going deeper and deeper. And in this time, her husband didn't know Jesus. Her kids weren't interested, but she was praying and praying. We were praying with her. And she kept asking, he kept saying, No, I'm not interested until after months he finally said yes. And he came to church and he was wearing a Panther's jersey as you do in Penrith. And thankfully, Pastor Jay Jerry spotted him out with his jersey and encouraged him, not knowing it was his first time in church. Now we can fast forward to the end of the service, and we all see his hand raised at the altar call, giving his life to Jesus. It was a complete miracle. Sinee was bawling her eyes out. She could not believe that she saw her husband responding to the good news of Jesus. But then we know that faith doesn't stop when the storms come. Not long after that, Sinee's mom had a horrible stroke to the point where Sinee had to give full-time care. There was not much support with the family dynamic, and it was hard. It was difficult for Sinee. But she held on to Jesus. She held on to her community. And then came a really painful season at work. There was an intense and drawn-out incident at work that actually stripped Sine of all confidence. It nearly broke her. It was confusing. It was hard, but she continued to cling on to Jesus day by day, reading her word, praying, staying planted in church. She walked through that ninth season and came out on the other side more like Jesus. Fast forward to today, her whole family is planted in church. She's been baptized, the kids are dedicated. And not that, not only that, she is leading our alpha team. She's doing it week in, week out. She's mentoring girls at work. Her kids love Jesus. She's praying for her colleagues. She's praying for people to be healed of cancer. She's full of faith. And Sinee's story reminds me of why all of this matters. Sinee's story wouldn't be what it is without those areas of gathering, of community, of growing, getting her roots down deep and going, actually participating in that all that God has for her. She fully is living out Jeremiah 17, 8. Now this is where I'm gonna end. I'm gonna read it to us again. You are like a tree planted by water. You will not fear the uh you will not fear the heat. You will not worry in drought. Your leaves will stay green and you will bear fruit. That's our challenge today, church. To be people who are committed to the gathering, the growing, and the going. Why don't you stand with me today? Why don't you go ahead and close your eyes again? I just want to take a moment and I want to pray. I want to pray for each person here, knowing that maybe there was one thing in today's message that actually did something for you. It hit a moment in your heart, a string in your heart. And I want to pray for people here who maybe go, you know what, community, that's something for me that I know God is speaking to me about. Now everyone's eyes are closed. On the drive up here, I felt like God said, pray for people who are feeling lonely. And so I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand, but maybe if that is you and you're going, you know what, community is difficult right now. Maybe there's fractured relationships. Maybe you feel like you have a lack of community. Maybe you have just a sense of feeling lonely. Just put your hand on your heart and let God minister to you this morning. I wonder if there are people here who feel stuck or stagnant when it comes to their relationship with Jesus. That maybe their roots are beginning to rot. And you actually want God to come and re-nourish those roots, to give you fresh root systems, going deep into the things of God. Again, just put your hand on your heart if that's you. And the last group of people, I want to pray for those who actually feel challenged. That maybe they are doing the right things when it comes to their personal relationship with Jesus, but they feel challenged to go on mission, to actually share the fruit of their lives. Maybe you feel a call to evangelize or to serve, or you're actually feeling God's going, okay, come on, let's do this. Let's go. Put your hand on your heart if that's you. Let me just pray over this group of people. God, I thank you that you are present and you are ministering to us. Lord Jesus, I pray right now for people who feel lonely, Lord Jesus. Come and be their comfort. Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, be a friend right now to these people. For those who are struggling with fractured community, fractured relationship. God, we ask you to intervene right now in the name of Jesus. We pray, Lord Jesus, that you would come and you would bring your peace. You'd bring your strength. You would bring your comfort. That God, we ask for your divine wisdom and insight as to how we can continue to move into healthy community. Be close to the brokenhearted. For those who are lonely, please, Lord God, I pray, Lord, that they would know that they are not alone, that they are in a healthy community here at Hillsong Newcastle. Help them to feel connected, Lord Jesus. And for those who are feeling stuck or stagnant, I ask, God, for a revitalization of their faith in you, Lord God. That as they put their roots down deep, Lord Jesus, that you would reveal yourself to them. Father God, I pray that you would just breathe your Holy Spirit into their life right now. And for those, Lord Jesus, who feel challenged to go to live on mission, God, I speak boldness. I speak faith. I speak your spirit to go and go before them, Lord Jesus. We ask for open doors to serve and to share the good news of Christ, to bear fruit, Lord God, and to make disciples. May that be all of our call, Lord Jesus.