Church news for the week beginning 21st September 2019
OUR BIBLE TALK
This weekend Jodie continues our Acts series ‘Launching the Church’. Today’s talk is on Acts 11:19-12:24, called ‘Opportunity and opposition’. Next week we welcome special guest Dan Odell from Shellharbour Anglican College to speak to us from 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 on the topic ‘Hope in Death’.
MISSION OF THE MONTH
Support Cameron and Alex Jones with Irish Church Missions through the ‘Mission Table’ by buying or donating fresh or prepared food items.
HOLIDAY KIDS CLUB
Our Holiday Kids Club is on 8-12 October. If you’re available to help let us know. Register at www.jamberooanglican.com/HolidayKidsClub – $50 per child for the full week (family maximum $100).
KIDS CLUB MEETING
Everyone involved in the club is encouraged to attend an important meeting next Saturday 28th September 2-4pm.
KATHY BUGGLES FUNERAL
Graham Errington’s mother passed away last week. Her funeral will be held in our church in a few weeks’ time.
NEW SMS NUMBER
Our church now has its own SMS number! Contact our staff by messaging 0439 890 086, and add it to your contacts!
SWITCH WOMEN’S CONFERENCE
Saturday 19th October, from 9am to 12:30pm at Bomaderry Anglican. Register https://southernwomen.org.au/ A great local conference for women with speaker Annabel Nixey. Not to be missed!
RFS ‘GET READY’ DAY
This Sunday 22nd September 9am to 2pm our church is serving the community by running the face painting! Why don’t you pop down and visit our stall?
NEW OFFICE ASSISTANT
Welcome to our new Administration and Communications Assistant,
Kiarnay Cignarella!
NEW ROSTERS COMING SOON
Please advise ‘unavailabilities’.
GIVING UPDATE
Each week we need to receive $3100.00 in order to meet our commitments. In the last calendar month, our average weekly giving was $2447.00, leaving a gap of $653.00. 
Electronic giving is a great way to give! It helps us prayerfully plan our giving, and then the bank will help us keep that commitment, even when we may be unable to attend. To give by direct transfer then these are the details. Account name: Church of England Jamberoo. Account number: 10081274. BSB: 062562.
It’s Time to Get Ready
One of the most frustrating aspects of fighting fires is turning up to help a resident whose home is completely unprepared for the coming attack.
If the householder had cleared out their gutters, raked away the leaves and removed the piles of branches from near their home, then it would be so much easier to save the home and prevent the heartache.
When you live in a fire-prone area, it is vital to hear the warnings and prepare for the coming threat, and that’s why the Rural Fire Service have annual ‘Get Ready’ events to educate and motivate people to prepare for the fire season.
For us in Jamberoo, the threat is real, with a long, dry, hot summer forecast, and the undeniable reality that it’s been over half a century since the ‘Black Monday’ fires that saw the escarpment burn all the way from Berry to the northern Illawarra.
We should all be prepared because the threat is known and real, and we are all able to do something to minimise the danger.
In the Bible we read about another certain threat for which people must get ready, and that’s the return of Jesus.
As Christians regularly say together in the Apostles Creed, “Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead.”
When Jesus returns it will bring an end to the pain, injustice and sadness of this world, and even though that judgement seems scary, it’s not something that Jesus’ followers should fear.
For we can trust the Bible when it says that “everyone who believes in Jesus will have their sins forgiven.” (Acts 10:43).
Jesus has given us a way to survive his coming judgement, but it means we need to spiritually ‘Get Ready’ by asking Jesus for forgiveness and trusting him as our loving leader.
His second coming is as certain as this year’s hot summer… so take the opportunity now to get ready for judgement day by taking refuge in his loving arms.
JODIE McNEILL
Coming up this weekend 21-22 September
Last week we saw that the good news of Jesus has now crossed cultural barriers to be available for anyone who believes! And in our next episode from the book of Acts we see that the action moves north to a city called Antioch, which now forms the new hub for Christianity as it travels to the ends of the earth. However, we will see both opportunity and opposition, as the growth of the early church is directly confronted by an attack by the militant forces of the state.
So, be sure to come along and hear this message at one of our two sessions this weekend. Join us at 5pm on Saturday for an all-age service, with kids’ program, a hearty meal, then youth group for our teenagers. Or come at 9am Sunday and have a more classic-style Anglican service, followed by first-class espresso and lots of time to catch up!
We also will have a time to hear answers to the questions you asked last week, which are:
1 What were the unclean foods that Peter didn’t want to eat?
2 Why don’t Christians avoid unclean foods?
3 Why did Gentiles believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but not many Jews?
4 What happens when a Christian dies and goes through judgement?
5 Did Tabitha briefly go to heaven after she died before she came back to life?
If you’re a regular, or just thinking of popping in for the first time, please join us! You’re very welcome!
Grace and peace, Jodie.
Church news for the week beginning 14-15 September 2019
OUR BIBLE TALK
This weekend Jodie continues our Acts series ‘Launching the Church’. Today’s talk is on Acts 9:32-11:18, called ‘A Clean Change for the Church’. Next week Jodie speaks on Acts 11:19-12:24 ‘Opportunity and opposition’.
MISSION OF THE MONTH
Support Cameron and Alex Jones with Irish Church Missions through the ‘Mission Table’ by buying or donating fresh or prepared food items (not bric-a-brac).
HOLIDAY KIDS CLUB
Our Holiday Kids Club is on 8-12 October. If you’re available to help let us know. Register at www.jamberooanglican.com/HolidayKidsClub – $50 per child for the full week (family maximum $100).
KIDS CLUB MEETING
Everyone involved in the club is encouraged to attend an important planning meeting on 28th September from 2-4pm.
NEW SMS NUMBER
Our church now has its own SMS number! Contact our staff by messaging 0439 890 086, and add it to your contacts!
INTERCHURCH GATHERING
This Sunday 15th September at 3pm, hosted by Jamberoo Uniting Church.
SWITCH WOMEN’S CONFERENCE
Saturday 19th October, from 9am to 12:30pm at Bomaderry Anglican. Registerhttps://southernwomen.org.au/
A great local conference for women with speaker Annabel Nixey.
ABORTION RALLY
This Sunday 15th September 2:30-5pm, Archibald Fountain, Hyde Park, Sydney. www.stand4.life
RFS ‘GET READY’ DAY
Next Sunday 22nd September 9am to 2pm our church is serving the community by running the facepainting! Can you help?
FLASH WORKING BEE
Join us as we build the carpark retaining wall and put up the new child-safe fencing this Friday 20th September from 8am.
GIVING UPDATE
Each week we need to receive $3100.00 in order to meet our commitments. In the last calendar month, our average weekly giving was $2447.00, leaving a gap of $653.00.
Electronic giving is a great way to give! It helps us prayerfully plan our giving, and then the bank will help us keep that commitment, even when we may be unable to attend. To give by direct transfer then these are the details. Account name: Church of England Jamberoo. Account number: 10081274. BSB: 062562.
Bring your kids to Egypt
After I prepared the promotional flyers for our holiday kids club, I realised that I had included a terrific photo of the Sphinx on the front, but didn’t once mention the word ‘Egypt’ or ‘Egyptian’ anywhere on the page!
I’ve since updated the newer versions to say ‘Egyptian Adventure’, but those who received an earlier sheet might have been confused about what Egypt has to do with modern Australian Christian kids.
The bottom line is that Egypt has a special place in the history of God’s people for all sorts of good and bad reasons.
On the one hand, Egypt was the place where our people experienced dreadful slavery at the hand of an evil and arrogant pharaoh, who defiantly opposed God and his appointed leader.
And yet on the other hand, Egypt was the place where God did powerful signs and wonders, which culminated in the remarkable parting of the Red Sea, and the triumphal escape from slavery.
And yet the reason we’re looking at Egypt in our October holiday club is actually because of the way that God famously used the horrible actions of Joseph’s eleven brothers (as shown in ‘Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat’) as a means by which he would bring blessing to his family and even to all of the people of Egypt.
It’s summarised in the well-known statement of Joseph, who reflected on the mean acts of his brothers by saying, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20).
For us, the message is clear: even through difficult and confusing times, we can know that God still loves us and is in control.
And as we travel in time to Egypt in our holiday club, this will be a fresh and powerful reminder to the kids and adults alike that God really has got the whole world in his hand!
To find out more about the Holiday Kids Club and to register your kids go to www.jamberooanglican.com/holidaykidsclub
JODIE McNEILL