Coming up this weekend 31st December 2023

This week we welcome as special guest preacher Grahame Scarratt who will be speaking to us on ‘Noah and the Gospel’ from Genesis 6:1-22, as he helps us see how wonderfully the Old Testament connects with the New, and the unfolding message of Jesus in the whole Bible.

If you can’t join us in person, then connect with us by livestream by going to watch.jamberooanglican.com or follow us on Facebook.

We’ll be taking a break from our weekly Question Time until mid-January, but feel free to keep asking your questions so Jodie can answer them when we start again.

After church we’ll have brunch in the morning and dinner in the evening, so there’s plenty of time to chat and chew, together!

See you on Sunday, God willing!

Rejoice With All Your Heart

Christmas is a time of the year when we love to sing carols about the good news of Jesus and the wonder of God becoming human to save us.

Even people who don’t normally sing in public will give singing a ‘go’ each Christmas, and because these carols have been a part of so many of our lives since birth, they create a comfortable familiarity in this festive season.

But did you know that God, himself, also sings?

In Zephaniah chapter 3 verse 17, we hear that The Lord our God, “will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

It’s an Old Testament reference, and it’s looking forward to a time when that singing will happen.

But for us who live after the first Christmas, this is divine singing has already happened… and it’s still happening!

For, Zephaniah was forward to a time when God’s people would sing with God: “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!” (Zephaniah 3:14)

But why would they sing? Why would they be glad and rejoice?

They sing because of their stunning salvation: “For the LORD will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the LORD himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster. (Zephaniah 3:15)

So, it turns out that singing at Christmas is the perfect response to the amazing salvation that came when Jesus came.

For as was promised to Mary, “she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

Let’s sing to that!

JODIE McNEILL

Join us for Christmas – even if it’s raining!

This Christmas we’d love you to join us at our special events open to everyone in Jamberoo and beyond.

At 5pm on Christmas Eve grab a FREE Sausage Sizzle and drink and then sit on your rug or chairs and join us for a special one-hour carols service at 6pm on the lawn, which is then followed at 7pm for a summer supper and all-age games.

If it’s raining then come along anyway! Sausages will be served under cover in the hall, and then we’ll meet in the church for a cosy and dry Churchill Carols with a twist!

At 9am on Christmas Day join us for a memorable all-age service in our classic church building as we sing well-known carols and hear a fresh insight into the remarkable birth of Jesus.

If it’s a long time since you’ve visited a church, then this is the perfect time to make new friends and discover real hope at Christmas.

Coming up this Christmas Weekend 2023

This week we’re not meeting at 9am Sunday, but are combining our two services at the special time of 5pm for a free sausage sizzle, then 6pm for a one-hour carols service on the lawn, followed by a free supper and all-age games from 7pm.

Then on Christmas Day, Monday 25th December, we’ll all be joining together at 9am for carols and lessons for all ages.

We’re not live-streaming on Christmas Eve, but we will be live-streaming Christmas Day at watch.jamberooanglican.com or follow us on Facebook.

We’ll be taking a break from our weekly Question Time until mid-January, but feel free to keep asking your questions so Jodie can answer them when we start again.

See you on Sunday and Monday, God willing!

PS – Don’t come to church this Sunday at 9am… but we’ll see you from 5pm for sausages!

The Message of the King – 4: Prepare for the King – Malachi 3:16-4:6 – Jodie McNeill – 17th December 2023

Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)

Doomsday _______

We all need to be preppers for _____

Don’t ______ the king

Many gave up on ________ God

Some of them _______ the Lord

When you follow God, life doesn’t get ______

Their _____ were in a special book

They will be treated like an ________ child

Judgement Day is ______

Judgement Day is like a hot _______

Burning brings up ____________

Judgement Day brings _______ to God fearers

The sun brings burning or _______

God’s people have a ____ on Judgement Day

God’s people must ____ God’s word

Judgement Day won’t happen before ______ returns

Malachi’s Elijah was ____ the Baptist

Rejecting John’s preaching brought a _____

Through Jesus, God’s children know their ______

Jesus invites us to receive his ____

Prepare for the king by ______ to Christ

Church News for the Week Beginning 17th December 2024

OUR SERMON

This Sunday we’re going to hear the final talk from the series called ‘The Message of the King’ as Jodie McNeill preaches to us from Malachi 3:16-4:6 on the topic, ‘Prepare for the King.’ We’ll also be celebrating the Lord’s Supper.

CHURCHILL CAROLS

Join us on Christmas Eve for our Churchill Carols on the church lawn. 5pm free sausage sizzle, 6pm all-age carols service, and 7pm summer supper. Keep the evening free for a great night for all!

CAN WE USE YOUR PHOTO?

We’re hoping to ramp up our social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and other platforms, so if you’d prefer not to have a photo of you displayed online as we promote our church, please let us know.

YOUTH AND CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS IN HOLIDAYS

Our normal midweek weekly groups for children and youth are taking a break over Christmas and will resume late January. But remember, every Sunday’s perfect for people of all ages and stages!

TOYS AND TUCKER

Together, we can share the joy with thousands of families this Christmas through Anglicare’s Toys n’ Tucker appeal. Simply visit toysntucker.org.au to provide food and gifts for those who would otherwise go without this Christmas.

SUMMER CAMPING AT BURRILL PINES

Join your church friends for a relaxed camping trip at Burrill Pines (near Ulladulla) on the third weekend of 20-21st January and the days before and after as you’re able. Speak to Adrian Nette 0414 193 945 for more details.

MORNING PRAYER

Join us at 7am every day (except Sunday) at zoom.jamberooanglican.com as we gather to read the Bible, pray, and encourage each other as the new day dawns.

DECEMBER BOOK OF THE MONTH

Our book of the month is ‘’The Dawn of Redeeming Grace’ by Sinclair Ferguson. Physical copies are available at our bookstall.

GIVING UPDATE

Each week we need to receive $6300.00 in order to meet our commitments. For last month, our average weekly giving was $5513.00, leaving a gap of $787.00. Up to the end of last month, we needed to have received $54,600. Compared to that total we received $48,216, leaving a gap of $6,384.

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: Jamberoo Anglican Church. Account number: 356831. BSB: 032605.

Happy Happy Day?

One of our favourite songs at Christmas time is the modern carol, ‘Happy Happy Day’ by Colin Buchanan, which rejoices at the coming of Jesus.

It’s right to sing for joy at Christmas because to us a Son is given, who leaves his throne in heaven—God with us, Emmanuel.

Yet Christmas often brings sadness, or even grief, as we’re reminded of the reality of our broken world, where we lament damaged relationships with loved ones, or the painful reality of distance and death.

What’s more, there will be many who live in places of war and natural disaster, and as we see their lives crumble, we’ll get sad, and we wonder why there’s so much pain, and why we let the same mistakes happen over and over again.

That’s why at the Jamberoo Community Carols on Tuesday night I sang another song by Colin that offers a fresh reminder that even when we’re worrying about the world, we can put our trust in God alone, for he’s still sitting on his mighty throne.

King Jesus came to us at the first Christmas, was placed on his throne at the first Easter, and he continues to rule from Heaven as he prepares to return.

That’s why we sing that, the Lord is king, he’s gonna look after everything, ‘cos this is his world, he rules the world.”

This is why Christmas is still a time to rejoice, even though it’s a time we might experience sadness.

For as the first song reminds us, Christ is the Lord, the light of men, and that he was born to die and rise again, and because of that, he broke the curse of death and saved us from our sin.

That’s why we can sing ‘Happy, Happy Day’ at Christmas, especially when our own experiences might not always be filled with joy right now.

JODIE McNEILL

Coming up this Sunday 17th December 2023

This Sunday we are going to be hearing from God’s word as Jodie McNeill concludes our series on Malachi called ‘The Message of the King,’ as he looks at Malachi 3:16-4:6 with the title, ‘Prepare for the King.’

We’ll also be sharing in the Lord’s Supper at our Sunday services this week.

After our 9 am service we’ll be enjoying brunch together, and after our 4 pm service we’ll be having dinner.

We’d love you to join us in-person if you’re able, or watch our livestream at watch.jamberooanglican.com.

Here are the questions you’ve asked that Jodie plans to answer during church this Sunday:

1 Where does God say in the Bible that taking any life is wrong?
2 Will aborted babies be in heaven?
3 Why doesn’t our church teach much about the Holy Spirit?
4 How can we discern the Holy Spirit’s guidance?
5 Why do we have Bible readings that aren’t related to the sermon?
6 Can we do Lord’s Supper earlier so the kids don’t need to come back in?
7 What does it mean to pull a sandal from someone’s foot (see Deuteronomy 25:9)?
8 What should we say if friends ask questions about the Lord that we can’t understand?

That’s almost a full board of questions, but if you’ve got one you wanted to ask about last week, then email us and we’ll seek to answer it soon.

See you on Sunday, God willing!

The Message of the King 1: Honour the King – Malachi 1:1-14 – Jodie McNeill – 26th November 2023

Classless Aussies?

God’s people developed very bad ______

They lived at a very different ____ to us

Malachi helps us know how to ______ Jesus

They don’t believe that God _____ them

God shows his love by _________ another

God showed them ___________

God showed his love by _________ his enemies

God’s love for his chosen people is __________

God will _______ his enemies

The priests weren’t showing God ______

They’ve been offering ___ sacrifices

They’re not feeling God’s _____

Soon others would offer _____ sacrifices

They ________ God’s word

They _______ the good sacrifice for a bad one

People ____ God, but don’t honour him

The sacrifice of _____ brought honour to the Lord

We honour God by giving _________ as a sacrifice

The Message of the King – 3: Return to the King – Malachi 2:17-3:15 – Jodie McNeill – 10 December 2023

Change of mind

The _____ leads us to change our minds

The Lord says ‘______ to me’

God’s people made the Lord _____

People worship imaginary ________ of God

People claim that God doesn’t ____

God will respond by sending a _________

The Lord will ____ to his temple

The Lord will come to ______ his people

The purification will come at a ____

John the Baptist was the Lord’s  _________

God won’t let them get away with ____

We have _______ because the Lord doesn’t change

The Lord calls them to ______ to him

They tried to _______ God by giving too little

If they trusted in God, he’d _______ their crops

We give to God in ________ to his grace

God’s people saw no _____ in serving God

Change your mind