Facing the Future

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How confident are you about the future?

There are so many unknowns right now, aren’t there?

At a time of escalating war in Europe, and an ongoing global pandemic, it’s harder and harder to make plans about anything.

Sometimes it’s hard to be confident in the future when there’s so much uncertainty, but there’s actually something in which we can have total confidence.

We can have total confidence in our eternal future, if we personally follow Jesus.

The Bible tells us that if we personally follow Jesus, then we can be totally confident about Judgement Day.

In Romans 8 we read that, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” (verse 31 and 32)

We can have certainty for eternity because God gave up his Son Jesus for us.

But what’s more, we are spiritually bulletproof if we follow Jesus, verse 33:

33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

That means that on Judgement Day there will be no condemnation for those who personally follow Jesus.

Furthermore, because Jesus rose from the dead, it means that we’ve got more than enough evidence for our confidence.

We can have “right standing” with God, because Jesus took our place.

If you personally follow Jesus as your loving ruler, then he will take care of you on Judgement Day, and you will have nothing to fear.

That’s a future we can have confidence in!

JODIE McNEILL

(photo credit: Dr. Matthias Ripp via Flickr.com)

Special arrangements for this Easter weekend – 15 to 17th April 2022

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This weekend is Easter and things will be a little different to normal.

This Friday at 9am, please join us in the church for a special, combined Good Friday service, as Jodie preaches to us from Matthew 27 on ‘Good Friday’.

This will be followed by hot cross buns over morning tea, together.

On Saturday night we will not be meeting at all for church… however…

On Sunday morning at 9am we will be gathering together for a free BBQ breakfast on the lawn, with delicious, freshly-cooked egg and bacon rolls.

Then church will begin at 10am out on the lawn (or in the church if the weather is bad) where we’ll have a joyful gathering as Jodie preaches from Matthew 28 on the topic, ‘Alive Day!’.

This special Easter Day service will then include the special baptism of seven of our church members, as they declare their trust in Jesus as Jodie conducts an open-air baptism in our portable pool.

This special event is for you, and for any of your friends or family members… or really anyone in our village, valley and region!

We’re going to have a break from questions this week, but we look forward to answering them in the coming weeks.

Please pray that from this weekend, many people in our village, valley and region would know how to follow Jesus and why it matters!

PS – we will not be meeting on Saturday night… so come on Sunday instead!

PPS – we’re planning to livestream both services, so if you can’t make it in person, then you can still join us online.

Messiah Masterclass 26 – ‘The Ultimate Betrayal’ – Matthew 26 – Jodie McNeill – 9 & 10 April 2022

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Friendly fire

The attack on Jesus will be ________ fire

The religious leaders want to _______ Jesus

The perfume pouring was a really ____ thing

Judas did it for _____

The ________ remembers the rescue from Egypt

Jesus ________ the Passover for his disciples

The betrayal was _______ by God

Jesus radically _________ the Passover

Jesus said that all twelve disciples would ______ him

Jesus was _______ with grief to the point of death

The Father’s ____ was more important than the Son’s desire

Jesus asks his disciples to keep _____ and pray

Nobody else is able to do what _____ had to do

The betrayal is more ________ than expected

It was all happening according to ____

The religious rulers tried to falsely ______ Jesus

From now on the Son of Man takes his place of _____

Peter ______ Jesus three times, then weeps bitterly

The ______ of the Messiah was our greatest day

Messiah-Masterclass-26-The-Ultimate-Betrayal-Jodie-McNeill-Matthew-26-9-and-10-April-2022Download

Church news for the week beginning 9th April 2022

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OUR SERMON

This weekend we will be hearing from God’s word as Jodie McNeill preaches to us from Matthew Chapter 26 on ‘The Ultimate Betrayal’.

GOOD FRIDAY AND ALIVE DAY

On Easter Sunday we’re gathering at 9am for a free, hot breakfast, followed at 10am for a special, combined service (instead of an Easter Saturday service.) Weather-permitting, we’re planning to eat and meet outside on our lawn like we did on Christmas Eve for carols, and this will be followed by some special, open-air baptisms!. A terrific weekend to invite someone along to church. We will also be meeting for Good Friday at the normal time of 9am, which will be followed by Hot Cross Buns!

BAPTISMS

Are you interested in being Baptised? If so, please let us know as we are having baptisms on Alive Day!

CONFIRMATION SERVICE

Our Confirmation Service has been rescheduled to Tuesday 17th May. If you would like to be confirmed please let us know.

MORNING PRAYER

Join us at 7am every day (except Sunday) at zoom.jamberooanglican.com as we gather to read the Bible, pray, and encourage each other as the new day dawns.

APRIL BOOK OF THE MONTH

‘The Storm Tossed Family’ by Russell Moore. Whether you are married or single, whether you long for a child or shepherding a full house, you are part of a family. Family can be the source of some of the most transcendent human joy, and family can leave us crumpled up on the side of the road. This is not just another book about some practical steps to having a perfect family. Instead, it is a book that is painfully real about the struggles that we all have with our families while living in a broken world. Moore argues that we often actually damage our families by attempting to make them central in our lives when the gospel should be central instead. Moore’s book is challenging and helpful, whether you are a parent, a child, a spouse, or a single person. If you would like to order a physical copy or read via Kindle, you can do that here.

GIVING UPDATE

Each week we need to receive $6300.00 in order to meet our commitments. Last month, our average weekly giving was $5882.00, leaving a gap of $418.00. 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.

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 NEW details. Account name: Jamberoo Anglican Church. Account number: 356831. BSB: 032605.

To give to our tax-deductible MTS Scholars Fund to support our apprentice youth minister, head to mts.com.au/give/jamberoo-anglican-church/


Spiritual Confidence

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Often when I’m having a chat with someone and it seems right to talk to them about the good news of Jesus, I’ll ask them this question: “If you were to die today and stand before God and He were to say to you, ‘why should I let you into My Heaven?’ What would you say?”

It’s a question that the ‘Evangelism Explosion’ organisation wrote to help people get talking about God… and to help ‘diagnose’ where people find their confidence in eternal things.

Just recently I asked someone this question, and I heard again the normal answer: “Well, I’d tell him that I’ve been a pretty good person and that I haven’t done anything really bad…”

This answer naturally leads me to say, “well, you know, that answer doesn’t actually work for anyone, because with God, even one rebellious act against him is enough to make us deserve Hell.”

And from there, I tell them that there’s only ever been one person in history who lived a life that pleased our Father in Heaven, and that’s Jesus.

And because Jesus lived a perfect life, he is the only person who could offer to swap his perfect performance for our imperfect performance… and that’s exactly what happened when he died on the cross for us.

So, if we follow Jesus, having asked for his forgiveness, then he will bring us that certainty for eternity because of his great kindness to us.

Then, I’ll often talk about the story of the salvation of the thief on the cross… which is such a great moment in history that shows the power of grace, not works.

This then leads to a stark reality: since this is true, we can have complete confidence in our eternal life with Jesus in Heaven.

That’s spiritual confidence… because all our confidence is on the performance of Jesus, not us… and his grace to us is not because of anything we’ve done.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Chris & Karen Highland via flickr.com)

Coming up this weekend 9-10th April 2022

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This weekend we are going to be hearing from God’s word as Jodie McNeill preaches to us from Matthew Chapter 26 on ‘The Ultimate Betrayal’.

After our 5pm Saturday service we’ll be having dinner, and after our 9am Sunday service we’ll be enjoying brunch together.

We’d love you to join us in-person if you’re able, or watch our livestream at watch.jamberooanglican.com.

These are the questions that Jodie plans to answer this weekend during church:

1 Should we understand the long ages of humans in the Bible literally?
2 How many English translations are there of the Bible?
3 How would people far from Jerusalem have understood the darkness that came when Jesus died?
4 If Jesus says we should “ask, seek, knock”, then why did the bridegroom not open the door?
5 In Matthew 25, why does Jesus only commend those who care for his followers?
6 When Jesus promotes practical care for his followers, does he teach salvation by works?
7 Does the guidance of the Holy Spirit sound like an inner voice?
8 Should we expect to receive instructions directly from the Holy Spirit, like the apostles did in Acts?
9 Is it possible for some Christians to ignore the Holy Spirit?
10 Is it OK to be pleased that an evil person has died?

If you’d like to submit your own question to be answered in church next weekend, then simply hit ‘reply’ to this email.

We’re really looking forward to seeing you this weekend!

Messiah Masterclass 25 – ‘Living in the Last Days’ – Matthew 25 – Jodie McNeill – 2 & 3 April 2022

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Fear of missing out

There’s nothing worse than missing out on ______

They are living in the last days before the first ______

Old Testament __________ are fulfilled at the cross

Jesus said the Son of Man would come in their ________

Jesus warns ______ not to reject him

Heaven is like a _______ banquet

Half of them were unprepared for the _____

The bridegroom _______ the unprepared bridesmaids

The master ________ his possessions with his servants

Their attitude to the money showed their ________ to the king

The return of the master brought great ___

The third servant didn’t honour and _______ the master

The coming of the Son of Man will bring a __________

They show love for Jesus by loving Jesus’ _________

Some people will miss out, big time

Messiah-Masterclass-25-Living-in-the-Last-Days-Jodie-McNeill-Matthew-25-2-and-3-April-2022Download

Church news for the week beginning 2nd April 2022

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OUR SERMON

This weekend we will be hearing from God’s word as Jodie McNeill preaches to us from Matthew Chapter 25 on ‘Living in the Last Days’.

GOOD FRIDAY AND ALIVE DAY

On Easter Sunday we’re gathering at 9am for a free, hot breakfast, followed at 10am for a special, combined service (instead of an Easter Saturday service.) Weather-permitting, we’re planning to eat and meet outside on our lawn like we did on Christmas Eve for carols, and this will be followed by some special, open-air baptisms!. A terrific weekend to invite someone along to church. We will also be meeting for Good Friday at the normal time of 9am, which will be followed by Hot Cross Buns!

NEW WARDENS AND PARISH COUNCIL

At our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday night we confirmed our new Wardens to be James Rosten, John Mion and Rebecca Watson. Our Parish Council will consist of Greg Baker, Greg Cleall, Stephen Holmes, Paul Massey, Adam Rosten, Paula Vidilini, as well Barbara Stephens and Siobhan King as two Rector’s selections.

BAPTISMS

Are you interested in being Baptised? If so, please let us know as we are having baptisms on Alive Day!

CONFIRMATION SERVICE

Our Confirmation Service has been rescheduled to Tuesday 17th May. If you would like to be confirmed please let us know.

MORNING PRAYER

Join us at 7am every day (except Sunday) at zoom.jamberooanglican.com as we gather to read the Bible, pray, and encourage each other as the new day dawns.

APRIL BOOK OF THE MONTH

‘The Storm Tossed Family’ by Russell Moore. Whether you are married or single, whether you long for a child or shepherding a full house, you are part of a family. Family can be the source of some of the most transcendent human joy, and family can leave us crumpled up on the side of the road. This is not just another book about some practical steps to having a perfect family. Instead, it is a book that is painfully real about the struggles that we all have with our families while living in a broken world. Moore argues that we often actually damage our families by attempting to make them central in our lives when the gospel should be central instead. Moore’s book is challenging and helpful, whether you are a parent, a child, a spouse, or a single person. If you would like to order a physical copy or read via Kindle, you can do that here.

GIVING UPDATE

Each week we need to receive $6300.00 in order to meet our commitments. Last month, our average weekly giving was $5882.00, leaving a gap of $418.00. 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.

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 NEW details. Account name: Jamberoo Anglican Church. Account number: 356831. BSB: 032605.

To give to our tax-deductible MTS Scholars Fund to support our apprentice youth minister, head to mts.com.au/give/jamberoo-anglican-church/


A Memorial To God

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On Wednesday night I joined with millions around the world to watch the telecast from the MCG of the memorial service for Shane Warne.

It was a joyful occasion of thanksgiving for the life of a man who entertained people throughout the world with his antics on and off the cricket field.

As someone who has the privilege of conducting funeral services, I found it fascinating to watch what happens when unbelievers try to make sense of death and the afterlife.

We heard that Shane was “taken from us” too young… an acknowledgement that someone or something was in control of the universe.

Another person was certain that he would be together with Warnie again soon… which showed a confidence in life after death.

Others mentioned that they knew that Shane was watching down on them, as a star in the sky.

Furthermore, nearly all of those who reflected on his life did so by directly addressing Shane, even though they had already conducted a funeral to dispose reverently of his mortal body.

It seemed that there were very few, if any, materialistic atheists at that memorial service.

Almost everyone spoke as though there was immortality of the soul in some way, and that the death of a body does not signal the end of a person’s existence.

And yet there was almost no mention of God at all.

This is tragic, for we know that, “each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27).

So, no matter how positive a person might feel about their eternal future, there is judgement awaiting them.

And the only way to be rescued from that judgement is through Jesus, for “Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people” (Hebrews 9:28).

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Tomme G via Flickr.net)

Coming up this weekend 2-3rd April 2022

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This weekend we are going to be hearing from God’s word as Jodie McNeill preaches to us from Matthew Chapter 25 on ‘Living in the Last Days’.

After our 5pm Saturday service we’ll be having dinner, and after our 9am Sunday service we’ll be enjoying brunch together.

We’d love you to join us in-person if you’re able, or watch our livestream at watch.jamberooanglican.com.

These are the questions that Jodie plans to answer this weekend during church:

1 If all people are descended from Adam, then who was Cain scared of?
2 Is abortion a sin?
3 Should we follow the distinction in labour we see between men and women in Matthew 24?
4 Given that Jesus said to love our enemies, why do Psalms often pray that God would kill them?
5 Since Jesus is God, why doesn’t he know everything that the Father knows?
6 Is it bad to pick and choose Bible translations as it suits you?
7 What is the difference between Anglican and Pentecostal churches?
8 Why does the Holy Spirit get less attention in our church?
9 Is there any significance to Easter Monday?

If you’d like to submit your own question to be answered in church next weekend, then simply hit ‘reply’ to this email.

We’re really looking forward to seeing you this weekend!