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Weekly Prayer Points,
2 August 2010. G'Day from Steve
Honouring a Heritage Hero.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17
Arthur Stace 1885 - 1967. He was a world war 1 veteran, a former alcoholic and thief who came to faith in Christ in the 1930's. An eccentric man whose childhood had been one of poverty and abandonment. Yet he had a heart for evangelism and helping down and out people beaten up by life. Shortly after his conversion he had heard the evangelist John Ridley tell a congregation in Burton Street Baptist Tabernacle that he wished he could 'shout eternity through the streets of Sydney'. Stace was inspired! 'I felt a powerful call from the Lord to write “Eternity”. I had a piece of chalk in my pocket, and I bent down right there and wrote it'; 'I've been writing it at least 50 times a day ever since.'
He married Ellen in 1942 and yet even then had a determined ambition to be a "missioner". A man dedicated to preaching the Gospel with just one word. He spent his entire life challenging thousands of people every day with a word that we cannot ignore. "Eternity". For many years it was an unknown mystery as to who was writing the word on walls and pavements of the city. A 'birdlike little man with wispy white hair', Stace became known as 'the Eternity Man', one of the characters of Sydney. After his death in July 1967 it soon became evident that countless lives had been impacted by this humble "one man - one word" crusade.
Arthur Stace is a true Heritage Hero. A man who didn't quite fit the system and social expectations of the church or society... yet served Jesus with unstoppable passion.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
He may have been Australia's first ever graffiti artist.... or one of our great evangelists. Like Arthur Stace... Let us be found living under God's Grace over our lives and past failures and get on with the high calling of "Eternity".
Godspeed,
Pictured: February, 1991 Steve with Betsy our beloved Ford F100.
Happy 23rd Birthday, Ryan!!
Pictured: Ryan rehearsing this week.
The guys have been hard at it rehearsing songs and working on the sound system and light show. We know we have a long tour ahead and a fantastic team ready to serve. One of them is Ryan Grace. He'll be driving the truck, lugging gear and playing drums for the entire tour. We are blessed to have him on the road with us. He turns 23 this week. We love ya Ryan!!
A Word in Season
Pictured: Steve singing "The Joy of the Lord " at Life Church, Brisbane yesterday.
Our good friend Maryann Willer in California sent this verse through yesterday and it is perfect encouragement as we prepare in these final days before the tour departs.
"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" Romans 15:5-7.
Well so much has not yet fallen into place for the Heritage tour.... yet we look to the Lord and trust in Him that we will be able to make a good start to the tour. We've had equipment failures, vehicle concerns, constant rain and many things not yet complete for the beginning of the venture. Still.... we've got an amazing team of people eager to serve and we know there are many churches out there praying for salvations and lives impacted by the coming events.
Please pray for our team. Some are exhausted from recent missions trips and the workload of preparations. But we know the joy of the Lord is our strength with all the challenges ahead. Thanks again to all those who faithfully pray and read the Prayer Points. We appreciate you.
Prayer for Annette
Pictured: Annette and Don
Last week in the rush of getting things organised for the tour Annette Telford suffered a mild condition of Bell's Palsy. She is resting well at the moment and we simply ask that you pray with us for complete healing and recovery. The Telford's will be serving on the Heritage Tour over the coming months and we praise the Lord for their love and determination to be part of the big adventure. We appreciate your prayers.
155 years of preaching Christ in the City
Pictured: The City Tabernacle Baptist Church, Est 1890
It was a great honour to take part in the 155th anniversary of the City Tabernacle Baptist Church last Saturday night. Built in 1890 before the State of Queensland was even formally recognised as a State of Australia. The grand old building is filled with amazing architecture and a pipe organ, which is still used to worship the Lord on Sunday mornings. We want to thank Rev Peter Frances and his wife Wendy for the invitation to present the Heritage Hymns to a very appreciative congregation. The church has an active ministry helping the poor and needy in the inner city of Brisbane. We loved the time celebrating God's faithfulness to generations.
Life Church, North Lakes QLD
Pictured: Kerrie, Steve, Mike & Michelle.
Thanks to Pastor Mike and Michelle Kelly and the fellowship at North Lakes Life Church for a wonderful day on Sunday. Steve preached in the morning service and then the whole team did a test run for an outdoor concert in the late afternoon. The BBQ aroma attracted many folks in the neighbourhood and the event was a great witness to the community. We praise the Lord for the decisions made for Christ and for a Church willing to get out there and serve the community. Thanks also to everyone at Life church for your support of our ministry and your heart for missions. We love you guys.
Check out: www.thelifechurch.org.au
A few songs around the Camp Fire
Pictured: Steve & Don in campfire concert mode.
Just a few streets away from our home every Friday night the locals gather together around a fire, cook marshmallows and enjoy a few drinks and friendly conversation. Don Telford and Steve were invited to share some songs and tell about the coming tour. A great way to encourage the local neighbourhood. We get the feeling there will be plenty of this kind of impromptu acoustic concerts as we camp out in Caravan parks and church grounds on the tour. Nothing like a bit of real music hey!!
Transport update for Heritage Tour
Pictured: ?
We are not this desperate yet..... But we got news this week that our Mitsubishi Pajero may not be in good enough condition to tow our caravan around Australia. Unfortunately, the replacement engine we installed earlier in the year has developed similar problems again... so we are praying for wisdom at the moment. We are doing some research into the possibility of a lease vehicle. Thanks for your continued prayers. We will have 3 vehicles all towing caravan's and trailers to start the tour. When we get down to fitting 4 adults and 5 children on a 125cc Japanese motorcycle we will let you know!!
Heritage Tour - Outback Skies TV Vision
Pictured: Outback Skies website.
We have begun filming this week. The planning and pre-production is going well. We are seeing God open doors, and close the ones that he does not want us to walk through. We have had some good interest from Christian television stations, and need continual prayer.
Go to www.outbackskies.com
Heritage Promo Video
Watch the New promo video online:
http://www.theheritagetour.com/media/downloads/video/
Heritage Tour 2010
Official Website: www.theheritagetour.com
Can you pray with us as we continue planning this tour, that later in the year, will be traveling to every State in Australia. We have been encouraged to pursue this venture through last years concerts in the country towns. The Heritage Hymns CD seems to be establishing a wonderful foundation on which to grow this vision. Many church leaders are responding to the vision of "honouring the past to inspire the future". What an honour to see and hear God being praised through these hymns once again.
Three simple ways you can be involved:
- Pray - Stand with us in prayer weekly as we seek to serve Christ and proclaim the Gospel.
- Give - There will be many financial needs small and large as we develop the tour and team.
- Go - Pray about being involved and serving on the tour for some of the schedule. More details on this soon.
We are still finalising sponsorships with various organizations so appreciate your prayers on this as well.
Testimonies
We are constantly encouraged by some amazing letters in the mail from people who have been blessed by the ministry. As many of you pray regularly for our work we wanted you to also partner in the blessing of these letters. Thank you to each of you who take the time to communicate with us about what God is doing in your life. We really are encouraged by your words.
You can check out the new testimonies page by Clicking Here
Prayer Requests
- Ongoing financial support for all the projects and missions planned for this year.
- National Heritage Tour, and all that needs to be done before we leave on the 4th August.
- For 'grace' magazine as it is being put together at the moment.
- For the team serving in the Steve Grace Office as they continue co-ordinating and communicating with Churches across Australia.
- For Ryan who goes for his Light Rigid driving test tomorrow..
- For God's leading as we pray about plans for 2011.
Until next week,
Steve & Kerrie Grace
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