Church news for the week beginning 1st December 2018

This weekend’s Bible talk

This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘Together for the Gospel’ from Romans chapter 15 verses 14 to 33.

Mission of the month

Special Religious Education (SRE) is our mission of the month. Support this ministry through the ‘Mission Table’ in the Hall.

Bookstall Coordinator Needed

Would you love to serve our church by coordinating our little bookstall? It’s a great ministry! See Jodie for more details.

Toys ‘n Tucker

Only two more weekends to support Anglicare Toys ‘n Tucker appeal by putting toys or tucker in the box at the entrance to the church. Collection day is Thursday 13th December. Thank you for your support

Monthly Midweek Service

The next (and final) monthly midweek service (with a special Christmas theme) will be held this Wednesday 5th December at 11am, followed by a light lunch in the hall.

Carols in the Park

Enjoy Carols in the park under the stars at Jamberoo on Tuesday 11th December, starting at 6.45pm, at Reid Park (opposite the Pub). Bring all the family along to enjoy and evening of carols. Bring a blanket or a chair and settle in for a lovely evening of Carols supported by the Salvation Army Band.

McNeill’s away

Jodie and his family will be on leave from the 6th December, and will return on 12th January, but will be popping in on Christmas Day when Jodie will preach. Please contact Graham for pastoral care during this time.

Giving update

Each week we need to receive $6300.00 in order to meet our commitments. In the last calendar month, our average weekly giving was $5513.00, leaving a gap of $787.00.Olimometer 2.52Up to the end of the last calendar month we needed to have received $54,600. Compared to that total we received $48,216, leaving a gap of $6,384.Olimometer 2.52Electronic 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 .

The start of a new era

I can still remember where I was standing when I answered the phone call from Bishop Peter Hayward inviting me to lead a partnership between Oak Flats and Jamberoo Anglican Churches.

To this day I still believe that this was a great opportunity for two churches to share resources for the sake of the gospel, and the fruit of this has been seen in the growth we’ve enjoyed over the four years we’ve been together.

Yet, like all growth, it has come with some challenges,most notably the need for both churches to cope with sharing their senior minister. However, this has also enabled both churches to enjoy the benefits of a larger, combined ministry, with resources that each parish would not have had on its own.

Through this, God has equipped our parishioners for personal mission, and in both churches, people have converted to Christ through the hearing of the gospel: praise the Lord!

Both churches face challenges in the future: Oak Flats now must find a new senior minister, and we now must find additional finances to support our increased staffing costs.

Yet, it seems that it is now the right time for both parishes to have their own, dedicated senior minister, to help each parish navigate, under God, the future opportunities for evangelism and discipleship in our local areas.

And so we must pray that God will continue to equip us all for works of service, so that the body of Christ might be built up, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” so that we might “walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 4:13, 5:2).

Grace and peace, Jodie.

Coming up this weekend 1st – 2nd December 2018

This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘Together for the Gospel’ from Romans chapter 15 verses 14 to 33.

It’s the right time for us to recognise many of the needs of our missionaries, so at both our services, we will have a special update about Special Religious Education (SRE) which is our Mission of the Month.

At our Saturday 5pm service we will have our popular weekly question and answer time, and Jodie will be answering these questions:

  1. Is our society right to condemn someone if they make one public mistake, like Luke Foley?
  2. Since we are to show love to our neighbour, does this mean that we should not criticise immorality?
  3. Since it was impossible to keep the Ten Commandments, then how were God’s people saved before Jesus came?
  4. Given the talk in Romans about special religious days, how should Christians regard the Sabbath today?

Our 8am Sunday service will be a Morning Prayer AAPB service.

If you’re wanting to check out our church we’d really love you to visit us on Saturday at 5pm for a contemporary service with kids’ program and dinner afterwards. Our youth group ‘Alive’ runs straight after dinner on Saturday night. Or come along on Sunday at 8am for a Prayer Book service.

If you can’t make it in person, you’re welcome to jump online to watch the service (with the same sermon and many other items) at www.oakflats.tv.

See you at 5pm this Saturday or 8am this Sunday, God willing!

Church news for the week beginning 24th November 2018

This weekend’s Bible talk

This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘What to do with the weak’ from Romans chapter 15 verses 1 to 13.

Mission of the month

Church Missionary Society (CMS) is our mission of the month. Support this ministry through the ‘Mission Table’ in the Hall.

Toys ‘n Tucker

Contribute to the Anglicare Toys ‘n Tucker appeal by putting toys or tucker in the box at the entrance to the church.

Christmas Decorating for SRE

We will be decorating the church for our School Christmas Assembly this Sunday, 25th November (not Monday) at 3:00pm . The colour scheme is red, silver and green. Please come along and join in the fun.

Parish Council

Our Parish Council meets this Monday, 26th November at 7.00pm at the church. Please remember them in your prayers.

Monthly Midweek Service

The next (and final) monthly midweek service (with a special Christmas theme) will be held on Wednesday 5th December at 11am, followed by a light lunch in the hall.

New roster coming soon

If you’re unavailable to serve on a roster from 17 December 2018 through 24 March 2019 please let us know via comment card, email office@jamberooanglican.com or even better go to www.jamberooanglican.net.

Giving update

Each week we need to receive $6300.00 in order to meet our commitments. In the last calendar month, our average weekly giving was $5513.00, leaving a gap of $787.00.Olimometer 2.52Up to the end of the last calendar month we needed to have received $54,600. Compared to that total we received $48,216, leaving a gap of $6,384.Olimometer 2.52Electronic 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 .

Apology for survivors of abuse

On Monday 22 October in the House of Representatives, our Prime Minister, the Hon. Scott Morrison MP, delivered an emotional, heart-felt apology on behalf of the Parliament and the Australian people, to the survivors of child sexual abuse, including those in Anglican churches.

That our Church was complicit in any way in these events, by ignoring them, disbelieving the testimony of survivors, or allowing sex offenders to continue their horrendous conduct in what should have been the safety of a church environment, is itself a matter of deep shame.

Let me reiterate my apology to the survivors of child sexual abuse, for our failure to protect them as children, and also to the families of those who have died prematurely due to their abuse.

While we have adopted rigorous processes to ensure the safety of children in the present, I recognise that this will not overcome the trauma that accompanies the sins of the past.

Today is an opportunity for congregations across the diocese to acknowledge the failures of the past and listen with acceptance to those who have been harmed.

My fervent prayer is that this will in some measure provide healing for these wounds, raise our consciousness of the seriousness of child sexual abuse, and enable us as a Church community to play our part in protecting and giving voice to the most vulnerable among us.

I offer this apology confident of the comfort, transforming power and tender love of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

ARCHBISHOP GLENN DAVIES

Coming up this weekend 24th – 25th November 2018

This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘What to do with the weak’ from Romans chapter 15 verses 1 to 13.

During our services this weekend, Jodie will spend time giving the official apology to survivors of abuse from our Archbishop Glenn Davies, and spend time in prayer for those who have suffered abuse and for their families.

At our Saturday 5pm service we will have our popular weekly question and answer time, and Jodie will be answering these questions:

  1. Will God forgive a Christian soldier who kills in offence not defence?
  2. Who wrote the book of Ezra?
  3. How did Adam die?
  4. Was Moses rebuked by God when he smashed the Ten Commandments?
  5. When trying to avoid causing the weak to stumble, must we always avoid the offensive thing, or only in their presence?
  6. If your conscience thinks that nothing is right, then does that mean that you can’t avoid sinning?
  7. Should prawns be considered unclean since they crawl and eat on the ocean ground?
  8. Is the Roman Catholic view of transubstantiation an example of a disputable matter amongst Christians?

Our 8am Sunday service will be a Holy Communion Second Order AAPB service.

If you’re wanting to check out our church we’d really love you to visit us on Saturday at 5pm for a contemporary service with kids’ program and dinner afterwards. Our youth group ‘Alive’ runs straight after dinner on Saturday night. Or come along on Sunday at 8am for a Prayer Book service.

If you can’t make it in person, you’re welcome to jump online to watch the service (with the same sermon and many other items) at www.oakflats.tv.

See you at 5pm this Saturday or 8am this Sunday, God willing!

Church news for the week beginning 17th November 2018

This weekend’s Bible talk

This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘The difference that real unity makes’ from Romans chapter 14 verses 1 to 23.

Mission of the month

Church Missionary Society (CMS) is our mission of the month. Support this ministry through the ‘Mission Table’ in the Hall.

Toys ‘n Tucker

Contribute to the Anglicare Toys ‘n Tucker appeal by putting toys or tucker in the box at the entrance to the church.

Christmas Decorating for SRE

Once again this year we are privileged to hold Jamberoo Public School’s Combined Christmas Scripture Assembly in our church on Thursday 29th November.  Can you help decorate our church for Christmas on Monday 26th November? See Lesley Errington or Lesley Calhau.

New roster coming soon

If you’re unavailable to serve on a roster from 17 December 2018 through 24 March 2019 please let us know via comment card, email office@jamberooanglican.com or even better go to www.jamberooanglican.net.

 

Giving update

Each week we need to receive $6300.00 in order to meet our commitments. In the last calendar month, our average weekly giving was $5513.00, leaving a gap of $787.00.Olimometer 2.52Up to the end of the last calendar month we needed to have received $54,600. Compared to that total we received $48,216, leaving a gap of $6,384.Olimometer 2.52Electronic 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 .

Can Google help your Christian life?

CREDIT: Travis Wise, via Flickr.

One of my great joys of each week is the opportunity you give me to answer your questions. Some of the questions are familiar, but others make me think a little harder.

This week I thought I might share with you some of the ways I go about trying to prepare answers to these questions.

For many of the answers, I draw down upon my previous training and theological reflection from over the years, sharing with you some of the insights that I received from older and wiser mentors and theologians.

Many of your questions based on the current sermon series allow me to inform you of some of the things I’d really wanted to include in the Bible talk, but didn’t have time to discuss.

But then there are the other questions that are really tricky.

My (not-very) secret tool is one that nearly all of you also share direct access to: Google.

When you ask me a tough question, then I’ll often put some key words into my search engine, and see what hits come up.

Then, depending on which websites seem to offer a solution, I’ll then click through and have a read of what has been suggested as the answer.

The risk in doing this is that the democratisation of the Internet enables people with all sorts of perspectives to come across with the perception of authority.

And even those whom I trust might still have a perspective on things that I don’t share.

But as I read their answers, I take the time to consider their arguments, and evaluate their conclusions.

As you look to find answers to your tricky questions, here are a bunch of handy websites that are usually pretty helpful, but as with everything, need to be carefully tested:

au.thegospelcoalition.org

gotherefor.com

christianity.net.au

fervr.net

publicchristianity.org

desiringgod.org

gotquestions.org

puritanboard.com

hermeneutics.stackexchange.com

bible.org

If in doubt, ask a trusted Christian what they think… and remember, you’ve always got the option to ask a question in church and hear my attempt to provide an answer… drawing down upon my research in all sorts of places!

JODIE McNEILL

Coming up this weekend 17th – 18th November 2018

This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic  ‘The difference that real unity makes’ from Romans chapter 14 verses 1 to 23.

At our Saturday 5pm service we will have a special update about Bush Church Aid (BCA). Also during that service, we will have our popular weekly question and answer time, and Jodie will be answering these questions:

  1. What does it mean for God to be omnipotent (i.e. ‘all-powerful’)?
  2. Was ‘original sin’ God’s idea?
  3. Are erotic novels as bad as pornography?
  4. What does the Bible say about abortion?
  5. Does God forgive a Christian solider who has killed in self-defence?
  6. What happens to the Holy Spirit in us after Jesus returns or we go to be with him?

Our 8am Sunday service will be a Morning Prayer Sunday service.

If you’re wanting to check out our church we’d really love you to visit us on Saturday at 5pm for a contemporary service with kids’ program and dinner afterwards. Our youth group ‘Alive’ is taking a break for the holidays but returns next week. Or come along on Sunday at 8am for a Prayer Book service.

If you can’t make it in person, you’re welcome to jump online to watch the service (with the same sermon and many other items) at www.oakflats.tv.

Church news for the week beginning 10th November 2018

This weekend’s Bible talk

This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘The best motivation for love’ from Romans chapter 13 verses 8 to 14.

Mission of the month

Church Missionary Society (CMS) is our mission of the month. Support this ministry through the ‘Mission Table’ in the Hall.

Toys ‘n Tucker

Contribute to the Anglicare Toys ‘n Tucker appeal by putting toys or tucker in the box at the entrance to the church.

Ladies’ High Tea

Join us this Saturday 17th November, 2pm to 4pm at Oak Flats. With guest speaker, Christine Jensen. There is no cost to attend this event, but please register at www.oakflatsanglican.com/ladiesdinner for catering purposes.

New time for our Sunday service

For your planning and prayer, we’ve decided to move our Sunday service an hour later to 9am from February next year. If you’d like to offer any feedback, please chat to Jodie or a member of Parish Council.

Christmas Decorating for SRE

Once again this year we are privileged to hold Jamberoo Public School’s Combined Christmas Scripture Assembly in our church on Thursday 29th November.  Can you help decorate our church for Christmas on Monday 26th November? See Lesley Errington or Lesley Calhau.

 

Giving update

Each week we need to receive $6300.00 in order to meet our commitments. In the last calendar month, our average weekly giving was $5513.00, leaving a gap of $787.00.Olimometer 2.52Up to the end of the last calendar month we needed to have received $54,600. Compared to that total we received $48,216, leaving a gap of $6,384.Olimometer 2.52Electronic 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 .