God desires oneness & harmony with each other like the unity between Father, Son & Spirit – the Trinity experiences.

Unity is the soul of fellowship. Destroy it, & you rip the heart out of Christ’s Body. Nothing in the world is more valuable to God than His Church. He paid the highest price for it, & He wants it protected against division, conflict & disharmony.

Paul says in Ephesians 4: 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 

So, it is your job to protect the unity of the church!  Here are some ideas How we can keep that unity.

1. Focus on what we have in common, & not on our differences.

Stay focused on what matters most. Loving each other as Christ loves us.

2. Be Realistic in your expectations.

Even though we will disappoint each other & let each other down, that is still no excuse to stop fellowshipping with each other. Remember the church is made up of people who still sin. Yes, including yourself.

3. Choose to encourage rather than criticise.

The Devils job is to blame, complain & criticise church family members. 

4. Refuse to listen to Gossip.

People who gossip to you, will also gossip about you. They cannot be trusted. 

Despite who they are in the church, if they gossip, they are troublemakers.

5. Don’t Triangulate. 

Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

Sharing prayer points can even be a way to gossip & slander our brothers & sister! Go straight to the person you have a problem with try to be reconciled.

6. Support your Pastor. (Ron & Julie)

There is no perfect leader, but God has given them responsibility & authority to maintain the unity of the church. As Ron comes to be your leader, he is not coming to make you happy. Jesus couldn’t even do thatwith his followers!  He is coming to help you grow in love for God & each other. So support him, pray for him, don’t compare him to others.

Honour & love him as one who is only trying to keep the unity of peace.

7. Continue to allow the Word of God to speak to you.

Remember the Bible is not just a text book. It is the Word of God to You. He will challenge you, He will call out your shortfalls & He will encourage you to remain faithful. God blesses churches that are unified.

What are you doing personally to make Jamberoo Anglican to be warm & loving?

Are there any Judgmental attitudes towards others that you are harbouring?

Final Words!   Let me say, I have enjoyed leading you in the interim. I want to thank you for your support & encouragements. My prayer is that you will support Ron & Julie so you will grow in unity & godliness & that you might impact your community even more, with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tony Galea

Luke 15 – The Older Son

The same father who ran to meet the rebellious younger son came out of the house of feasting to plead with the older son.

How gracious and compassionate is our Heavenly Father. He is patient with our weaknesses weather we are lost outside God’s house or lost inside God’s house.

Marvel at God’s awesome love for you in Christ Jesus! 

Tony Galea

This life is not all there is. 

This life is the practice workout before the main game. This life is preparation for the next.

Solomon says in Ecclesiates 3:11 He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart;

We all have an inborn instinct that longs for eternity. It’s because we are created in the image of God, therefore, we are designed to live forever. Even though our hearts will stop beating one day, it will be the end of our body & our time on earth, but it will not be the end of us & our spirit!

Death is not our termination but our transition into eternity. There are eternal consequences to everything we do here on earth.

So, eternity offers 2 choices: Heaven or Hell. Your relationship with Jesus here on earth, will determine your relationship to him in eternity. If we accept Jesus’ love & forgiveness heaven awaits us for eternity. 

But if we ignore or reject Jesus’ love & forgiveness hell awaits us for eternity.

Heaven is the place where we live in perfect relationships & joy forever. Hell is the place where we live in hopeless isolation & pain forever.

Only a fool would go through life unprepared for what we all know will eventually happen. Just like a life in the womb for 9 months is preparation for the life we all know. This life is the preparation for our eternity.

So live life with eternity in mind.

Make the best decision of your life, & make Jesus the boss of your life. Come back to Him. Return to His Grace & love. Accept his gift of forgiveness & heaven.  If you have a relationship with Jesus you don’t need to fear death, because it is the door to eternal life with God.

That’s why the Apostle Paul says with great hope & confidence: But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Phil 3:11)

Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, come to your senses, come home to the Lord Jesus!

Tony