Welcoming without affirming

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CREDIT: Photo UNED, via Flickr.

Last weekend Mandy and I attended the ‘Anglican Future Conference’ in Melbourne.

One of the keynote speakers, Wes Hill, encouraged us to think about the challenge of having our churches open to including people who experience unwanted, same-sex attraction.

He encouraged us to be ‘welcoming, not affirming.’

We are to be welcoming to people with all sorts of backgrounds and experiences, but do so in such a way that we do not affirm behaviour that is against God’s will.

As a basis for his encouragement, he led us through a Bible study on Romans 9 to 11, where he outlined the remarkable way in which God’s gospel makes believers go from spiritual death to life.

And when God acts to save his people, his salvation is unifying.

We who were excluded as non-Jews have been included into the nation of Israel, and it had nothing to do with how faithful we were to his law.

In fact, he included us in order that we might be dependent on God’s grace, not on our own merits.

The result is that “we must forsake our looking down on others.”

For this reason, our church welcomes LGBTQI+ people.

God’s saving message of his love and mercy is for everyone: we are all welcomed, but our sin is not affirmed.

For as we read in the Bible:

Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 9b-11)

JODIE McNEILL

Coming up this weekend 15th – 16th September 2018

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This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘God’s faithfulness’ from Romans chapter 11 verses 1 to 10.

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 Church Missionary Society which is our Mission of the Month.

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

  1. Who are the ‘other gods’ that the Lord is compared to in Exodus 18:11?
  2. Since Jesus says that God is not willing that anyone perish, how can we then say that he stops people from believing?

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’ 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 8th September 2018

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This weekend’s Bible talk

This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Simon Chaplin speaking on the topic ‘Christ is the centre’ from Romans chapter 9 verse 30 to chapter 10 verse 21.

Mission of the month

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

Anglican Futures Conference

Jodie and Mandy are away in Melbourne this weekend as delegates at the ‘Anglican Futures Conference’, the Australian GAFCON equivalent that meets every three years.

Alive Camp

Our high-school-aged youth group, Alive, is heading away next weekend, 14th to 16th September with Oak Flats Anglican youth group, Refuge. They will be heading to a property at Robertson, and the cost is only $50. Please keep them in your prayers.

Jamberoo Inter-church Service

Join with fellow church-goers around our village and valley in our quarterly inter-church service. On Sunday 16th September 7pm at Jamberoo Uniting Church, with supper to follow.

Single Minded Conference Livestream

Single Minded is a conference running at Village Church, Annandale that is about singleness… but for everyone.
Main speaker – Sam Allberry. Albion Park Presbyterian will be hosting the Livestream on  Saturday, 22nd September from 10am to 5pm. Cost: $25 (workers) or $20 (students, pensioners, etc) which includes morning tea & lunch. RSVP to Gordon Coleman on 0425 224 577.

New roster coming soon

If you’re unavailable to serve on a roster from 1st October through to 16th December 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 $5882.00, leaving a gap of $418.00.Olimometer 2.52Up 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 2.52Electronic 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 pursuit of happiness

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CREDIT: Mitchell Joyce, via Flickr.

It is hard to claim that pyramid-shaped tea-bags have added much to the sum of human happiness.

They’re just another part of our society’s never ending quest for better and more luxurious things. The continual rise of technology has made products, once considered only for the elite, now available to everyone – the pyramid tea bag one such example! I’m not sure anyone expected that particular product to create a wave of new found happiness. But what of more sought after technologies? With the ability for more people to gain access to these goods we might have expected a steady rise in our society’s general happiness.

However as levels of wealth and technology have risen, levels of happiness have gone down. Technology was meant to bring a higher standard of living with less work. However all we have found is that the goal posts have moved. We don’t just want a higher standard of living, we want a higher standard of living than others. In other words we take for granted luxuries that were only dreamed of a generation ago, and we want more. We are now working more and are dissatisfied with what we have.

This should come as no surprise to Christians (although we too find ourselves caught up in this cycle). However what may come as a surprise is that any pursuit of happiness as an end goal, seems to lead to a decrease in happiness. The more we chase happiness, the more elusive it is. We often wish this goal for others with sentiments like ‘whatever makes you happy’, or  ‘I’m happy if you’re happy.’ However this goal in the end is simply counter-productive.

That’s because God has made us for a greater goal than happiness.

We are created to love and serve him, and to love and serve others. And a wonderful truth emerges here – the more we forget about focusing on ourselves and our own happiness, the happier we become.

SIMON CHAPLIN

Coming up this weekend 8th – 9th September 2018

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This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Simon Chaplin speaking on the topic ‘Christ is the centre’ from Romans chapter 9 verse 30 to chapter 10 verse 21.

We will share the Lord’s Supper at 5pm Saturday, so be sure to join us for this important reminder of the death of Jesus.

Also at our 5pm Saturday service we will have our weekly question and answer time, and Simon will be answering these questions:

  1. Is ‘Glossolalia’ (speaking in tongues) false spiritual knowledge?
  2. Is Exodus 16:23 the first time God commanded his people to have a sabbath?
  3. Where was ‘before the Lord’ in Exodus 16:33?
  4. How does God communicate with Moses when he tells him to get water from the rock?
  5. Are our prayers wasted when we pray for someone to be saved whom God hasn’t chosen?

Our 8am Sunday service will be a Holy Communion First 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 1st September 2018

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This weekend’s Bible talk

This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘God’s sovereign election’ from Romans chapter 9 verses 1 to 29.

Mission of the month

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

Monthly Midweek Service coming up

Our next service is this Wednesday 5th September at 11am, followed by a light lunch in the hall.

Wednesday’s HSC Study Hall

Each Wednesday from 3.30-5.30pm we want to provide a space for HSC students to get out of their bedrooms and have a fresh place to study alongside other students each week. Starting this week at the church for all of Term 3, and into exam time if desired. There will be FREE coffee and homemade afternoon tea. No fee, just an open door for some extra support in the HSC season.

Anglican Futures Conference

Jodie and Mandy will be in Melbourne next weekend as delegates at the ‘Anglican Futures Conference’, the Australian GAFCON equivalent that meets every three years.

Single Minded Conference Livestream

Single Minded is a conference running at Village Church, Annadale  that is about singleness… but for everyone.
Main speaker – Sam Allberry. Albion Park Presbyterian will be hosting the Livestream on  Saturday, 22nd September from 10am to 5pm. Cost: $25 (workers) or $20 (students, pensioners, etc) which includes morning tea & lunch. RSVP to Gordon Coleman on 0425 224 577.

New roster coming soon

If you’re unavailable to serve on a roster from 1st October through to 16th December 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 $5882.00, leaving a gap of $418.00.Olimometer 2.52Up 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 2.52Electronic 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 .

Praying for the PM

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In the midst of a very messy few weeks in Federal Politics, our nation has ended up with a Prime Minister who trusts in Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

In his maiden speech, Scott Morrison spoke of his “personal faith in Jesus”, noting his commitment to his faith at an early age.

We can be thankful to God that he has given us a man to lead our nation who himself follows Jesus as his own leader.

Nonetheless, it is a challenge for any Christian in public office to faithfully follow his own beliefs whilst serving a nation full of diverse faith positions.

Whilst he must not divorce his own heartfelt commitment to the teachings of Jesus, he must also lead politicians who represent a wide range of constituents.

Morrison has said “My personal faith in Jesus Christ is not a political agenda.”

Furthermore, he said that for him, “faith is personal, but the implications are social—as personal and social responsibility are at the heart of the Christian message.”

This will be a real challenge for our new Prime Minister.

We must pray for him that he will have great wisdom as he seeks to be a faithful Christian man in a very public office.

For, as he observed a decade ago, “it has become fashionable to negatively stereotype those who profess their Christian faith in public life as ‘extreme’ and to suggest that such faith has no place in the political debate of this country.”

We must pray that Mr Morrison would continue to profess his Christian faith in public life, and that he would have many opportunities to commend the truth of Jesus to those he speaks to privately and also in the public sphere.

JODIE McNEILL

Coming up this weekend 1st – 2nd September 2018

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This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘God’s sovereign election’ from Romans chapter 9 verses 1 to 29.

At both our services, Jodie will providing a special Ministry update for 2019 and beyond that is planned for our church.

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

  1. What is an Omar and what is an Ephah?
  2. Why don’t we have manna these days, and is it possible to make it?
  3. What is grace, and how can we attain it?
  4. Since we are all sinners, it it possible to become sinless?
  5. Does the reoffending of abuse by church workers show they take God’s grace for granted?
  6. Is speaking in tongues the work of the Holy Spirit, and if not, where is from?
  7. Was the Holy Spirit in Jesus when he came to earth?
  8. Why do we need to pray if God already knows our minds?
  9. Why are so many of us obsessed with materialistic things of wealth?

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 25th August 2018

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This weekend’s Bible talk

This weekend we continue our series on ‘Romans: The Heart of Truth’, with Jodie speaking on the topic ‘Blessed assurance’ from Romans chapter 8 verses 31 to 39.

Mission of the month

Anglicare is our mission of the month. Support this ministry through the ‘Mission Table’ in the Hall.

Wednesday’s HSC Study Hall

Each Wednesday from 3.30-5.30pm we want to provide a space for HSC students to get out of their bedrooms and have a fresh place to study alongside other students each week. Starting this week at the church for all of Term 3, and into exam time if desired. There will be FREE coffee and homemade afternoon tea. No fee, just an open door for some extra support in the HSC season.

Parish Council

Our Parish Council meets this Monday, 27th August at 7.00pm at the church. Please remember them in your prayers.

GAFCON Information Night

Join us this Wednesday 29th August at 7.30pm at St Michael’s Cathedral, Wollongong to hear more about GAFCON and to pray for the movement.

Kiama/Jamberoo Bible Society Coffee Afternoon

All are warmly invited to attend the Kiama/Jamberoo Bible Society Coffee Afternoon on Saturday 1st September starting promptly at 2pm, at St Peter & Paul School Hall, Manning Street, Kiama. Special guest speaker: Melissa Lipsett, Chief Operations Officer for the Bible Society Group.

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 2.52Up 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 2.52Electronic 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 .

Contentment in all seasons

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CREDIT: Photo 30miller, via Flickr.

We are a people who are not used to contentment. August is too cold & windy. February is too hot & not breezy enough. Our family members are too pushy. Our friends don’t support us enough. The HSC is too hard. There isn’t enough homework in primary school. It’s about time the National Energy Guarantee is coming! Who cares about emissions, everything is meaningless!

We can all complain on any given day. And sometimes it’s deserved. Some seasons are really hard and difficult. Declines in health, death, relationship issues, stress from work or study, division in our churches. But, there are also great seasons in life where there is great joy, fulfilment, and one feels carefree.

But no matter the season, we are called to be content. Paul has amazing wisdom here saying:

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13

I am reminded of Horatio Spafford who was able to write the beloved hymn It is Well with My Soul in the face of great tragedy, losing his four daughters at sea. Though I hope no one in our congregations will face such tragedy, it is my prayer that in the face of all hardship we will be a people who will rely on the Lord to give us strength and we will reach for contentment.

We are blessed. For “whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father” (James 1:17). Let’s be a church that lives in thankfulness to the Good Lord and contentment.

RAYNE ORANGE