How’s your media footprint?

/in /by
We are accountable to God for all our thoughts and actions (CREDIT: Gunnar Ries via Flickr)

This week we have seen the sudden end to a number of budding political careers as the inappropriate online history of candidates was made public.

Comments were made on social media and blogs that included rude jokes and statements that have caused offence.

On Friday, Mr Creasey, a former candidate for the upcoming federal election, said that he had wrongly made “awful comments many years ago”, but that whilst he now distances himself from those comments, he said that his actions were “an important for young people that your social media footprint will follow you.”

Apart from the obvious wisdom of taking care when posting, commenting, liking, or interacting with social media, it is a timely reminder to us that every thing we say, do and think is known to our heavenly Father.

Even if our thoughts don’t leave our minds, our wrongful thoughts and attitudes are still known in full to God.

That is why we are all unable to stand before God and claim to be blameless in his sight, no matter how many good things we have done.

As we read in the New Testament, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” (Hebrews 4:13)

This is why everyone is in desperate need of a saviour who will take upon himself the judgement we deserve, so that God will look at us as pure and blameless.

This is why the Bible tells us that “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God.” (1Pet. 3:18)

So, no matter what you’ve said or done, whether it’s public or private, you can be sure that God will forgive you for those sins if you trust in Jesus as Lord and saviour.

JODIE McNEILL

Coming up this weekend 4-5 May 2019

/in /by

When you join us this weekend, you’ll meet three people with very strong Canadian accents. These guys are working with our church for a month as part of their Bible college training, and they’ll be sharing why they think it’s such a great thing to be friends with Jesus.

If you’re coming along for the first time, you’ll be very, very welcome, and what’s more, you’ll get to hear the first in our new, nine-week series called ‘Hope Beyond Chaos’. I’ll be preaching from the Old Testament book of Judges during this series, and this weekend it’s from the first chapter. The book of Judges is a pretty full-on, almost ‘medieval’ kind of story, but it has very practical implications for living today in God’s world.

Whether you’re a follower of Jesus, or just checking out what he stands for, then we’d really love you to join us.

On Saturday at 5pm we have church that is ideal for people of all ages… with babies, kids, youth, and adults right through to the 90’s. We have dinner (free for visitors) and then youth group afterwards from 7.30 to 9.30. We’ve got a creche, junior kids and senior kids programs running during church, so it’s an all-age affair!

In the morning on Sundays at 9am it’s a more classic Anglican service, which is followed by a delicious morning tea and espresso.

This week there are no questions in our Q&A spot, so we’ll have an extended interview with our Canadian friends about life as a Christian.

We’d love you to join us! See you Saturday and/or Sunday!

Grace and peace, Jodie.

Getting In and Staying In – John 10 verses 1 to 21 – Cameron Jones – 27 & 28 April 2019

/in /by

Introduction

– Looking for a sign

Getting in (verses 1 to 10)

– A dangerous world

– Sheep!

– The only way in

– True safety

Staying safe (verses 11 to 21)

– The good shepherd

– Becoming and being sheep of the good shepherd


Download a copy of the outline, with some nice pics of sheep, here: Download

News 27-28 April 2019

/in /by

OUR BIBLE TALK

This weekend we welcome visiting speaker Cameron Jones from Ireland who will speak to us on the topic, ‘Getting In and Staying Safe’, from John 10 verses 1 to 21.

NEXT WEEK’S TALK

Next week we begin an all-new series on the book of Judges called ‘Hope Beyond Chaos’, as Jodie delivers the first talk ‘From Conquest to Chaos’, from 1:1-2:15.

MISSION OF THE MONTH

BCA (Bush Church Aid) is our mission of the month. Support at the ‘Mission Table’.

LISTEN ONLINE

Go to www.jamberooanglican.com/talks or search ‘Jamberoo’ on iTunes Podcasts.

IRISH NIGHT

This Saturday 27th April we welcome Cameron Jones from the Anglican Church of Ireland, to preach and share about his plan to plant a church in the most gospel-poor, English-speaking nation. Irish dinner, trivia, and much more! He will also preach on Sunday at our 9am service.

BRIERCREST YOUTH MISSION

During May, we’ll be hosting three youth ministry students from Canada.Can you billet a student for a week?

CAN YOU HELP WITH OUR KIDS?

We’re expanding our kids’ ministry on Saturday night and we need people to be helpers for creche and our kids’ programs. Can you help occasionally?

GONG MEN’S DAY

Saturday 15th June 9am-2pm in Dapto. Speaker: Sam Chan. Don’t miss it! Details www.gongmensday.org 

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 $5882.00, leaving a gap of $418.00. Olimometer 2.52 Up to the end of the last calendar month we needed to have received $245,700. Compared to that total we received $221,466, leaving a gap of $24,234.Olimometer 2.52

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.

What’s Wrong with the Irish Church?

/in /by
Less than one percent of the Irish are evangelical Christians. (CREDIT: René Silvio H. via Flickr)

The most famous Irish event in our calendar is ‘St Patrick’s Day’, where we celebrate a cheerful, cleric in green robes.

Patrick became a follower of Jesus, and sought “that through me, many people should be born again in God and brought to full life”.

This mission cost him dearly, as he gave up wealth and security to evangelise a country that persecuted him.

From his ministry, Ireland gained a reputation as the land of saints and scholars.

Less than a hundred years ago, Sydney looked to Ireland to get quality teachers of the Bible, including T. C. Hammond, who as Principal, transformed Moore College into what it is today.

Yet now the Irish church is only a shadow of its former glory, and Ireland has become the least-evangelised country in the English-speaking world.

In fact, only one percent of the Irish are now Evangelical Christians.

There is a great need for gospel ministry in the Republic of Ireland, and that’s why Cameron and Alex Jones are planning to evangelise an Anglican church into existence in the Dublin Docklands, the ‘Silicon Valley’ of Ireland.

Fourteen years ago, Cameron and Alex travelled from Australia to minister in the UK, then three years later they moved to serve in Northern Ireland, from where they intend to move to Dublin with Irish Church Missions.

Now they’re asking their Aussie friends to help them raise funds to cover both a place to live and their living costs.

The Irish church has drifted a long way from the gospel heart of St Patrick, and now it’s time for gospel-strong churches like ours to share our resources with a land that was once strong in the gospel but now desperately needs the faithful, Bible-based ministry Cameron and Alex seek to share.  

JODIE McNEILL

Coming up this weekend 27-28 April 2019

/in /by

An Aussie Irishman walks into a church…

It’s no joke, because my old mate Cameron Jones has travelled all the way from Ireland to come to Jamberoo to tell us why Ireland needs Jesus more than almost any other place in the English-speaking world. (He’s also coming out to visit other churches… but it makes for a good story to say he only came out to visit us!)

To celebrate, we’re having a special Irish night this Saturday night 27th April starting with a special Irish church service at 5pm, then an Irish dinner, with trivia, games and other special items. Plus, Cameron’s also preaching on Sunday morning the 28th at 9am, so you can hear his Bible teaching in the morning at a more-classical Anglican Holy Communion service, if you’d like.

During both services, I’ll be answering all these questions you asked during church last weekend:

1 How do we know what Jesus prayed in his private prayer on the night before he died?
2 What hymn was sung at the Last Supper?
3 If Judas repented, then would Jesus have forgiven him?
4 Does our preference for unity show an innate desire for God’s love?
5 When God said “let us make man in our image”, is this the same “us” as John 17:21?
6 When we are in heaven, will we be able to speak to Jesus’ disciples and dead friends?
7 How should we respond to a Jehovah’s Witness when they come to our door?
8 What do Mormons and Scientologists believe differently to us?
9 Is casting lots the same as gambling?
10 Is it a sin to question God’s existence?

So, don’t miss out on a special weekend of church as we gather to learn about the church of Ireland and the special plans God has for the future!

Jodie.

What Would Jesus Pray? 3: Jesus Prays for Us John 17 verses 20 to 26 Jodie McNeill – 20 & 21 April 2019

/in /by

Disunity is _____.

The _____ of the disciples was eroding.

________ amongst Christians is unfortunate.

We became believers by _________ the disciples’ message.

This message is the basis for our ______.

Unity can only exist in _____.

It is a deep _____ in the Trinity.

Our unity is so the world _____ that Jesus is the Son of God.

As Jesus revealed _______, he revealed his glory.

He wants us to have unity so we know the Father’s ____.

When we are one, we feel the ____ of God.

He prayed for us to see him in his ________ glory.

The world doesn’t ____ the Father.

We are truly ______ with Christ.

We who are ‘in Christ’ will ____ with him.

Download a copy of this as a PDF (with clipart to colour in) here Download

News 19-21 April 2019

/in /by

OUR BIBLE TALK

This weekend we complete our three-week series ‘What would Jesus pray’ from John 17, as we examine what Jesus prayed for us, in verses 20 to 26.

NEXT WEEK’S TALK

Next weekend our guest speaker Cameron Jones will be speaking from John 10 verses 1 to 21, on ‘Jesus is the Good Shepherd.’

MISSION OF THE MONTH

BCA (Bush Church Aid) is our mission of the month. Support at the ‘Mission Table’.

LISTEN ONLINE

Go to www.jamberooanglican.com/talks or search ‘Jamberoo’ on iTunes Podcasts.

EASTER SERVICES

Our Good Friday service will be held at 9am. Our other two services will run at normal times during the Easter weekend.

ANZAC DAY MARCH

Jamberoo is remembering Anzac Day on Saturday 20th April 10.30am. Jodie will be reading the Bible and praying. 

IRISH NIGHT

Next Saturday 27th April we welcome Cameron Jones from the Anglican Church of Ireland, to preach and share about his plan to plant a church in the most gospel-poor, English-speaking nation. Irish dinner, trivia, and much more! He will also preach at 9am.

DUBLIN DOCKLANDS GATHERING

You’re invited to the Rectory at 2.30pm next Saturday 27th April to hear Cameron Jones chat more fully about the Dublin Docklands church plant and the prayer and financial needs for the future.

BRIERCREST YOUTH MISSION

During May, we’ll be hosting three youth ministry students from Canada.Can you billet a student for a week?

CAN YOU HELP WITH OUR KIDS?

We’re expanding our kids’ ministry on Saturday night and we need people to be helpers for creche and our kids’ programs. Can you help occasionally?

GONG MEN’S DAY

Saturday 15th June 9am-2pm in Dapto. Speaker: Sam Chan. Don’t miss it!

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 $5882.00, leaving a gap of $418.00. Olimometer 2.52 Up to the end of the last calendar month we needed to have received $245,700. Compared to that total we received $221,466, leaving a gap of $24,234.Olimometer 2.52

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.

Fair Enough? Good Friday 2019 – Luke 23 verses 32 to 43 Jodie McNeill – 19 April 2019

/in /by

It’s just not cricket!

We have a desire for _______.

It seems wrong to punish an ________ person.

Jesus gave himself as a _________.

All three men will experience _____ together.

All Jesus could think of was ______.

Jesus suffered terrible ___________.

They offer ______ as they mock him.

People _______ to the statement that Jesus is King.

They all knew that ______ people was Jesus’ job.

All people will be ______ by God.

The criminals are punished ______, but Jesus is not.

He asks Jesus to ________ him.

Jesus promises the criminal a _____ in his kingdom.

Jesus _______ his sinlessness for our sin.

By _____ you have been saved, not by works.

Come to the altar.

Download a copy of the PDF of this outline by clicking here:Download

Destruction at Easter

/in /by
This Easter is a time to reflect upon the fragility of life (CREDIT: Wandrille de Préville)

As news broke of the fire at Notre Dame, the world united in shock and sadness.

This Parisien icon had towered over the landscape for 850 years, and yet it now had succumbed to the power of fire.

Some might say it’s only a building, but there is a good reason why the citizens of Paris wept over its destruction.

For many, it was a place where they came to meet with God, and for others, it was a symbol of European Christianity.

For me, I was reminded of another, impressive place of worship that also suffered enormous destruction.

The Second Temple of Jerusalem was deliberately destroyed by Romans in 70AD, yet decades before, that Temple had become redundant as a place of worship.

For, at the very moment that Jesus died, the Bible records that the giant curtain of that temple was torn in two.

No longer was that stone building in Jerusalem to be the place to meet God, for now they would meet him in Jesus Christ.

For Jesus once said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” […] But when Jesus said, “this temple,” he meant his own body. (John 20:19,21)

It is natural for us to feel sentimental about our buildings, and it was right to be sad when Notre Dame and the Temple of Jerusalem were damaged or destroyed.

Yet, the greatest destruction was on the first Good Friday, when the Son of God was executed as an innocent man on behalf of those who trust in him.

However as promised, Jesus was raised from the dead on Easter Sunday, and with his resurrection comes a certain hope that can never perish, spoil or fade.

This Easter, as you reflect upon the fragility of life and the certainty of our own passing, it is a great time to trust in Jesus and enjoy the forgiveness he offers and the hope he promises.  

JODIE McNEILL