Coming up this weekend 19-20 October
This weekend we jump back into our series on Acts, ‘Launching the Church’, as I guide us through the story of Paul’s first missionary journey from Acts 13 and 14. It’s such a remarkable thing to see the Apostle Paul gearing up for gospel action as the word of Jesus goes to the ends of the world!
Term 4 of school for 2019 starts back this week, as does our regular question and answer segment. If you had any questions that arose from the sermons during the holidays, or about the Christian faith, please email them to kiarnay.cignarella@jamberooanglican.com during the week so we can put them on the list.
Here are some of the questions from the past few weeks that we’ll look at this weekend:
1 If Peter baptised the Samaritan believers ‘in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’ would they still have needed John to baptise in the Holy Spirit?
2 Was Peter afraid of the angel when he was released from prison?
3 Are people ‘in heaven’ whilst they await Judgement Day, and if not, why do people say “people are looking down on you from heaven”?
4 Is Jesus in Paradise now, and if so, will we see him straight away when we die?
5 Is Paradise before judgement, or will we be with the Father and the Son before judgement?
6 Is Greta Thunberg’s motivation to show more care for God’s creation or to rebuke us for not properly controlling the climate?
7 How do you tell the difference between persecution and abuse from idiots?
Please join us at our 5pm Saturday evening service with kids program, followed by a great time together over a hearty dinner, then youth group. Or come along to our 9am Sunday morning service where we share morning tea afterwards and chat over some espresso. We would love to see you!
Grace and peace, Jodie
Be Strong and Courageous
During the last week at our Holiday Kids Club we’ve been looking at the story of Joseph and the rough treatment he suffered from the evil acts of his brothers and others.
In Genesis chapter 39, Joseph was falsely accused of harming a senior official’s wife, and as a result, he ended up in prison.
As we discussed this tragic moment in Joseph’s life, I asked the children in our programme to tell the group what they thought Joseph would have been feeling as he was alone in prison, falsely accused.
The kids suggested that Joseph would have felt confused, or sad, or angry, and even lonely.
The Bible doesn’t really tell us about Joseph’s feelings… but it does tell us that God never abandoned him during those difficult times.
We read that “the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love…” and that “The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” (Genesis 39:21, 23).
As we reflected on how Joseph must have felt, we sang together the well-known song by Colin Buchanan, ‘Be strong and courageous’, which helped remind us all of the faithfulness that God has for his people.
And we were reminded that even in the most difficult times, we should remember that God will never leave us or forsake us, and that he works through all things for the good of those who love him.
And as we saw on the final, full day of the kids program, the evil that was done by Joseph’s brothers and others was something that God used to bring good:
“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)
What a great comfort and joy to know that our loving God is totally in control of everything!
JODIE McNEILL
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