News 22-23 June 2019
OUR BIBLE TALK
This weekend we continue our series ‘Hope Beyond Chaos’ as Jodie opens up Judges 13:1-16:31 with our eighth talk, ‘Saint and Sinner’.
NEXT WEEK’S TALK
Next week we conclude our series on Judges as Jodie opens up Judges 17-21. as we hear talk nine, ‘Idolatry and Immorality’.
MISSION OF THE MONTH
CMS is our mission of the month. Support at the ‘Mission Table’ by buying or donating stuff.
PIES FOR SCRIPTURE
Support the ministry of Kiama High School Scripture by buying some tasty meat or sweet pies for $10. Order on the form in the hall before this Sunday 23rd June.
COMBINED LEADERSHIP GROUP
Our next quarterly meeting is on this Tuesday 25th June at 7pm, as we prayerfully review and plan our ministries.
YOUTH CAMP
Our first-ever ‘Alive’ camp is coming up for our teenagers on 9-11 August at Burrill Pines on the South Coast. Keep the date free, invite your friends, and see Rayne for more details. Talks are on the topic “A Christ-centred Identity”. Cost is $150 (with subsidies available). Should be a great weekend of fun, fellowship, and Jesus!
JEMIMAH AND JACOB’S WEDDING
Jemimah McNeill and Jacob Mierendorff are getting married at Kiama Anglican on Friday 5th July at 12.30pm. You’re invited to celebrate with them at the service.
CHURCH REFURBISHMENT
At our recent Parish Council meeting decided to undertake a refurbishment project to modernise our kitchen, grounds, parking area, children’s gate and play equipment, and other improvements. To enable this, we have decided to borrow $95,000 over 15 years, with weekly payments of $166. If you wish to find out more or make a formal comment to the Diocese, please see the documentation at the Church door and the Hall.
GIVING UPDATE
Each week we need to receive $2650.00 in order to meet our commitments. In the last calendar month, our average weekly giving was $2561.00, leaving a gap of $89.00. 
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.
Sing Hallelujah to the Lord
Protesters sing Hallellujah in Hong Kong (CREDIT: Twitter @machinetta)
This week I was reminded of two significant memories from the 1980’s.
The first was the iconic images of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, when civilians were gunned down by Chinese soldiers during a protest for democracy.
The second was the song ‘Sing Hallelujah to the Lord’, a song I sang repeatedly throughout my teenage years in youth group and church.
These two memories came together as I witnessed news reports of the millions of people protesting in Hong Kong against the threat of being extradited to mainland China for trial for dissent.
Due to an anomaly in the legal system, there is a greater leniency towards Christian gatherings than political protests.
So, as the crowds gathered to protest, they followed the singing of Christian voices who turned this iconic chorus of the 70’s and 80’s into a modern meme for freedom and democracy.
Yet, as this song rings out in the public sphere, there is another level of subtle political subversion, for the lyrics of this Christian anthem unite the singers in praising the name of the Lord above all other rulers.
For as they sing on earth, they are united with the multitude that also gathers in Heaven to worship Jesus, whose shouts sounded “like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder”, as they cried out”Hallelujah! For our Lord Almighty reigns!” (Revelation 19:6)
As they chose to proclaim this Hebrew word ‘Hallelujah’ which means ‘Praise the Lord’, they made the bold statement that Jesus is the true ruler over all.
And as the millions gathered in Hong Kong to protest about the threat to freedoms, they also invoked the name of the Lord, who is the true ruler over all.
No matter what political fights we might experience, the greatest ruler of all is Jesus, the Lord of all, who is truly worthy of praise.
JODIE McNEILL
Coming up this weekend 22-23 June 2019
One of the Bible’s most famous ‘power couples’ is Samson and Delilah… but for all the bad reasons. This dysfunctional couple represent so much that is wrong with the way that God’s people have acted in their worst moments of history. Yet, our Lord God worked through the extraordinary circumstances of Samson to bring deliverance to his troubled people.
This is the topic of this weekend’s Bible talk, as we consider Samson, who was both sinner and saint, and who acts as a most-unlikely saviour to God’s people.
During our church services we’ll be having answers to these questions which you asked over the last week or two:
1 Since Jephthah was foolish to make his oath, why did he still keep it instead of admitting his folly?
2 Why didn’t God provide an animal for Jephthah instead of his daughter?
3 If a spouse leaves the marriage without mediation should the deserted spouse seek to negotiate?
4 If someone bullies you then should you negotiate or retaliate?
5 What happens to Christians in the time between when we die and when Jesus returns?
6 Why is it so hard to forgive people when they say sorry, but keep doing the wrong thing?
7 What do you do if your friend shuts you down when you try and talk to them about God?
We’re also looking forward to celebrating ‘CMS Sunday’ at our services this weekend, which is a great way to help keep global outreach to the whole world on our agenda.
So, please come and join us. The action begins at 5pm on Saturday, with all-age church and a kids’ program, followed by an awesome dinner and then youth program. Or be with us at 9am on Sunday for a more classic kind of Anglican service, followed by terrific espresso coffee.
If you’ve never joined us before, then this is the perfect weekend to break the ice and be part of the special things that God is doing in our awesome village and valley of Jamberoo.
Grace and peace, Jodie.
News 15-16 June 2019
OUR BIBLE TALK
This weekend we continue our series ‘Hope Beyond Chaos’ as Jodie opens up Judges 10:6-12:15 with our seventh talk, ‘The Limitations of Negotiations’.
NEXT WEEK’S TALK
Next week we will continue our series on Judges as Jodie opens up Judges 13:1-16:35 as we hear talk eight, ‘Saint and Sinner’.
MISSION OF THE MONTH
CMS is our mission of the month. Support at the ‘Mission Table’ by buying or donating stuff.
INTERCHURCH GATHERING
We are hosting the first of the all-new gatherings this Sunday 16th June at the new time of 3pm in the church hall. If you’re coming, please bring along some afternoon tea to share. Jodie will be speaking on the topic ‘In Christ Alone’.
PIES FOR SCRIPTURE
Support the ministry of Kiama High School Scripture by buying some tasty meat or sweet pies for $10 each. Order on the form in the hall before 23rd June.
COMBINED LEADERSHIP GROUP
Our next quarterly meeting is on Tuesday 25th June at 7pm, as we prayerfully review and plan for our ministries.
CHURCH REFURBISHMENT
At our Parish Council meeting on Tuesday, we decided to undertake a refurbishment project to modernise our kitchen, grounds, parking area, children’s gate and play equipment, and other improvements. To enable this, we have decided to borrow $95,000 over 15 years, with weekly payments of $166. If you wish to find out more or make a formal comment to the Diocese, please see the documentation at the Welcome Table and the Noticeboard.
GIVING UPDATE
Each week we need to receive $2650.00 in order to meet our commitments. In the last calendar month, our average weekly giving was $2561.00, leaving a gap of $89.00.
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.
Be Strong and Courageous
When the Lord of the universe is on our side, we should not be afraid (CREDIT: Nick Webb via Flickr)
One of my favourite all-time church songs is ‘Be Strong and Courageous’ by Colin Buchanan.
It’s one of those rare songs that is able to mix simplicity with depth of meaning, and it brings people of all ages together in a powerful anthem that leads us to grow our trust in the Lord.
The context of the song is the famous verse that was said by the Lord to Joshua in the time before he was to boldly lead God’s people to the Promised Land.
We know now that the story ends in victory, but for the people at the time you would have expected that there was genuine fear in the hearts of all.
To make matters worse, their trusted leader Moses had passed away, and the new leader Joshua needed to stand up and lead through a challenging time.
With all this in mind, God graciously speaks directly to Joshua, saying these words:
Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. […] This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:6-9)
When it seems hard to obey God’s good word to us, we can take these comforting words to heart: “be strong and courageous… do not be afraid or discouraged”.
When the true Lord of the universe is on our side, we should not be afraid to follow his loving rule over our lives, even if to do so seems scary.
We should be strong and very courageous, for the Lord is with us.
JODIE McNEILL