Recognising the New Year

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In Old Testament days the new year was recognised by a trumpet blast and a day of rest (modelled on Lev 23:23-25). Originally Ram’s horns were used, probably in time they were replaced by silver trumpets. The trumpet blast was a ‘memorial’ — a reminder of God’s goodness & faithfulness for the year past, also for the year to come. A holy assembly was called (a renewal of covenant obligations to God).

Of course, the modern way of ushering the new year is through parties and fireworks.

But the trumpet blast of Old Testament days has it counterpart in the trumpet call of New Testament days – but this trumpet announces the coming of the Lord, not for a new year, but for the beginning of a new age (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

And so a good new year’s resolution is to be ready for him. Christians now listen for the trumpet call which will announce the end of the age when the Messiah will come to judge the word and establish his reign.

And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame …… Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. 1 John 2:28 and 3:2-3.

Graham Errington

Coming up this weekend 31st December 2016 – 1st January 2017

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This weekend Graham Errington is speaking on the topic ‘Shepherds’, from John chapter 10 verses 1 to 18.

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

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, 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 24th December 2016

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Christmas Carols Service

On Christmas Eve, Saturday 24th December, we’re opening our doors at 5pm for a night of Christmas Carols, with a meal afterwards. Invite your friends for this great night of singing and sharing about the saviour of the world!

Dinner after the Christmas Carols Service

You are all invited to dinner after the Christmas family carols service on Christmas Eve at Jamberoo. We will provide BBQ chicken and ask folk to bring either a salad or a dessert to share.

Christmas Day at 9.30am

Join us at the special time of 9.30am on Christmas Day for an all-age, community celebration of the birth of Jesus!

Mission of the month: Special Religious Education (SRE)

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

Children’s and youth programs in holidays

During school holidays our normal midweek children’s and youth programs take a break until Term 1, 2017. The children’s program during the 5pm service will take a break and will return on Saturday 28th January 2017.

McNeills away

Jodie and his family will be on leave from the afternoon of 25th December, and will return on 5th January.

Summer Sermons

For the next two Sundays we welcome Graham Errington as our preacher, before we welcome Simon Chaplin, the new Assistant Minister at Oak Flats Anglican. Simon will be doing a four week series titled “Christ in the Psalms”.

150th Anniversary Date

We’ve now locked in the date of our 150th Anniversary celebrations next year. We’re going to celebrate on the afternoon/evening of Saturday 18th and the morning of Sunday 19th February 2017. Keep the date free, and inviting friends of our church. Our speaker will be Bishop Peter Hayward.

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 $5509.00, leaving a gap of $791.00.

Olimometer 2.52

Up to the end of the last calendar month we needed to have received $273,000. Compared to that total we received $245,588, leaving a gap of $27,412.

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 .

Truth overcomes in a post-truth world

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The Oxford English Dictionary has named ‘post-truth’ the international word of the year.

This is not surprising given that the Brexit vote and US election were enmeshed in what is being called post-truth politics.

Let’s face it – there is so much ‘post-truth’ around.

The rise of social media has been fuelled by people who claim to write the truth – yet there are so many lies and untruths in social media.

In the Bible, God is called the God of truth. The apostle John describes Jesus as ‘the Word become flesh’ who came to earth and lived among us. He said, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

From politics to personal life, what more do we want for Christmas than people who will tell us the truth?

There is much in our world which is post-truth – but remember at Christmas time we celebrate the truth of Jesus – the God of truth, who declares ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’.

Happy Christmas!

Dr Glenn N Davies, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney

Coming up this weekend 24th – 25th December 2016

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This Saturday night at 5pm is our Carols Service, and afterwards we will having a BBQ chicken feast. Come along and bring your voices!

This Sunday at 9.30am we’re joining together for Christmas Day at Jamberoo Anglican.

It’s pretty normal for us to have visitors join us on Christmas Day, so if you’re thinking of popping in for the first time, you’ll fit in nicely. Come and join us for a tasty espresso coffee, and some morning tea!

There are many things to distract us from the true meaning of Christmas. Why not make the time to spend an hour or so on Christmas Day reflecting on the miracle of Jesus coming into the world? You won’t be disappointed…

PS – remember, it’s 9.30am (not 8am) on Sunday morning.

Church news for the week beginning 17th December 2016

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This weekend’s Bible Talk

This weekend Mark Howard will be speaking on the topic “The Dark before the Dawn”, from Isaiah chapter 9 verses 1 to 5; and Matthew chapter 4 verses 12 to 17.

Mission of the month: Special Religious Education (SRE)

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

Christmas Carols Service

On Christmas Eve, Saturday 24th December, we’re opening our doors at 5pm for a night of Christmas Carols, with a meal afterwards. Invite your friends for this great night of singing and sharing about the saviour of the world!

Dinner after the Christmas Carols Service

You are all invited to dinner after the Christmas family carols service on Christmas Eve at Jamberoo. We will provide BBQ chicken and ask folk to bring either a salad or a dessert to share. Please let either Mandy McNeill, Annette Gibson or Lesley Errington (lesleyaerrington@gmail.com) know if you are coming, how many people are coming with you and what you would like to contribute to our feast. RSVP by Sunday 18th December if possible.

Christmas Day at 9.30am

Join us at the special time of 9.30am on Christmas Day for an all-age, community celebration of the birth of Jesus!

New Rosters

New rosters are out now. If you need a paper version, grab one from the information table, or otherwise log onto www.jamberooanglican.net to see what dates and roles you are scheduled for.

Children’s and youth programs in holidays

During school holidays our normal midweek children’s and youth programs take a break until Term 1, 2017. The children’s program during the 5pm service will take a break after next Saturday (Christmas Eve) and will return on Saturday 28th January 2017.

150th Anniversary Date

We’ve now locked in the date of our 150th Anniversary celebrations next year. We’re going to celebrate on the afternoon/evening of Saturday 18th and the morning of Sunday 19th February 2017. Keep the date free, and inviting friends of our church. Our speaker will be Bishop Peter Hayward.

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 $5509.00, leaving a gap of $791.00.

Olimometer 2.52

Up to the end of the last calendar month we needed to have received $273,000. Compared to that total we received $245,588, leaving a gap of $27,412.

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 .

That’s Retailtainment

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If you’ve ever chosen to ‘go to the shops’ in order to occupy your time, then you will have experienced some ‘retailtainment.’

George Ritzer defines this as the “use of ambience, emotion, sound and activity to get customers interested in the merchandise and in a mood to buy.”

Retail has been mashed up with entertainment, and now it’s hard to separate the two activities.

In our hunger for more retailtainment, our shops are open for longer hours, which means that it’s harder than ever to synchronise the leisure time for our families and friends.

Yet, this has been a reality for many people involved in the ‘shift work’ that keeps our country running.

Whether it’s enforcing the law, nursing patients, or baking bread, many people work when the rest of us are sleeping.

This makes going to church as a family even harder.

The good news is that God never sleeps, and we can meet with him any time of the day.

That’s why it’s great to get into a rhythm of daily Bible reading and prayer, even if it’s just a short verse and a quick prayer.

Taking advantage of technological advancements like livestreaming church (like www.oakflats.tv) means those who work unusual hours can also still maintain some normality, even when they’re at work on weekends.

Yet, there’s no substitute for face-to-face ministry to each other, which is why it’s good for all of us to meet up one-to-one or in small groups to pray and read the Bible with each other.

But no matter if or when you work, let’s find our satisfaction in the joy of knowing God, rather than worshipping at the altar of retail.

“For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.” (Daniel 6:26b)

Coming up this weekend 17th – 18th December 2016

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This weekend we welcome Mark Howard who will be speaking on the topic “The Dark before the Dawn”, from Isaiah chapter 9 verses 1 to 5; and Matthew chapter 4 verses 12 to 17.

At our 5pm Saturday service we will be hearing from Liana for a review of her Year 13 experience and what her plans are next.

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

At both our services, we will have a special update about Special Religious Education (SRE) which is our Mission of the Month.

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, or come along on Sunday at 8am for a Prayer Book service.

Church news for the week beginning 10th December 2016

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This weekend’s Bible Talk

This weekend Jodie concludes our series on the Old Testament book of Job, with the final talk titled, ‘Mythbusting Life’ from chapter 42 verses 7 to 17.

Next week’s Bible Talk

Next week Mark Howard will be speaking on the topic “The Dark before the Dawn”, from Isaiah chapter 9 verses 1 to 5; and Matthew chapter 4 verses 12 to 17.

Mission of the month: Church Missionary Society (CMS)

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

Carols in the Park

Enjoy Carols in the park under the stars at Jamberoo this Tuesday 13th December, starting at 6.45pm, located at Reid Park. Bring all the family along to enjoy and evening of Inter-church Carols. Bring a blanket or a chair and settle in for a lovely evening of Carols supported by the Salvation Army Band. Wet weather alternative venue is Jamberoo Public School, Churchill Street, Jamberoo. If possible, we’d love some help setting up at 9am, and packing up at the night after the event.

Christmas Carols Service

On Christmas Eve, Saturday 24th December, we’re opening our doors at 5pm for a night of Christmas Carols, with a meal afterwards. Invite your friends for this great night of singing and sharing about the saviour of the world!

Dinner after the Christmas Carols Service

You are all invited to dinner after the Christmas family carols service on Christmas Eve at Jamberoo. We will provide BBQ chicken and ask folk to bring either a salad or a dessert to share. Please let either Mandy McNeill, Annette Gibson or Lesley Errington (lesleyaerrington@gmail.com) know if you are coming, how many people are coming with you and what you would like to contribute to our feast. RSVP by Sunday 18th December if possible.

Christmas Day at 9.30am

Join us at the special time of 9.30am on Christmas Day for an all-age, community celebration of the birth of Jesus!

New Rosters

New rosters are out now. If you need a paper version, grab one from the information table, or otherwise log onto www.jamberooanglican.net to see what dates and roles you are scheduled for.

150th Anniversary Date

We’ve now locked in the date of our 150th Anniversary celebrations next year. We’re going to celebrate on the afternoon/evening of Saturday 18th and the morning of Sunday 19th February 2017. Keep the date free, and inviting friends of our church. Our speaker will be Bishop Peter Hayward.

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 $5509.00, leaving a gap of $791.00.

Olimometer 2.52

Up to the end of the last calendar month we needed to have received $273,000. Compared to that total we received $245,588, leaving a gap of $27,412.

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 .

Great growth through Year 13

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Life changing. Boldness. Deep joy.

These are some of the concluding words that come into mind about my journey with Year 13.

This year has been the best year of my life. Who would have thought that in only nine months, I would have grown so much.

I am so thankful to God for his growth in me through Year 13: theological growth, relational growth of life-long friendships and personal growth of my own faith. He is so good.

It has been a real joy to serve in our Oak Flats and Jamberoo church family.

Watching my high school Scripture kids explore Christianity, asking deep questions and regularly attending youth group has been a real encouragement.

I have also loved mentoring my youth girls and delving into controversial topics such as same-sex attraction, dating and abortion.

Thank you for the ongoing support you have shown financially and in prayer, and your partnership in our weekly ministries.

Our mission to Fiji brought deep growth. Witnessing the local people’s contentment and unwavering trust in Jesus exposed my own selfishness and need to live for him at the cost of popularity, money and comfort.

However, my greatest highlight has been my growth in boldness and theological knowledge. 

Being equipped to defend the gospel through our apologetics studies, it has given me more confidence to answer my workmates’ questions about the Bible.

As I graduated three weeks ago, I felt both joy and grief, yet I am excited for God’s plans in the future.

Please pray that I will speak boldly about Jesus at university next year, seeking to evangelise at every opportunity.

Also, that for all graduates, that God would remain at the centre of our lives.

Ultimately, may all glory be to Christ!