Church News for the week beginning 8th December

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OUR BIBLE TALK

This week is our second last talk on our series in Acts, ‘Launching the Church‘. We will see Paul put on trial as he is accused of stirring up trouble amongst the Jews, but his hope in God continues to shine through. The section from the Bible is Acts 24:1-26:32 and it would be great if you could have a read of it before you come to church.

MISSION OF THE MONTH

Our mission of the month is Scripture in Schools (SRE). You can support the SRE ministry by donating and buying from the mission table in the hall.

LADIES GUILD

The next Ladies Guild meeting will be on Saturday December 14th at 3pm. All the youth are also invited as it will be a planning meeting for our Christmas Eve service on the lawn.

UPCOMING ROSTERS

Please advise us of any unavailabilities for the months of January and February via Elvanto or your response slip as new rosters will be out soon.

INTER-CHURCH CAROLS

Our famous ‘Carols in the Park’ events is on Tuesday 10th December in Reid Park at 6.30pm. Pack a picnic rug and a hamper, and be prepared for some joyful singing about Jesus!

CHRISTMAS SERVICES

This year we will be having our first-in-a-long-time Christmas Eve service! Come join us at 6pm on our new church lawn for a free sausage sizzle, then an open-air night of carols and fellowship. Our regular Christmas day service will be at 9am in the church.

Free To Speak

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It is a great relief to see a resolution in the lengthy dispute between Israel Folau and Rugby Australia.

Folau has been given an apology by RA, as well as a confidential financial payout.

It all stemmed from Folau’s post on Instagram of a paraphrased quote from the Bible that warned people to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus Christ.

The specific reference to homosexual acts was the comment that brought the offence that led to his dismissal and the termination of his contract.

Thankfully, the outcome of this dispute is a recognition that it is important for individuals to be able to speak freely about issues that really matter to them, even if it is not necessarily aligned with some views in government and corporations.

I stand with Israel in wanting everyone, everywhere to turn away from their past lives and turn to Jesus as loving ruler and rescuer.

I stand with Israel in calling all people to repent and believe the good news about Jesus.

And this call to ‘repent’ will naturally cause offence.

Jesus offended people everywhere when he called out their rebellious acts and their sinful hearts.

But Jesus gave people a way to be fully forgiven of everything in their past, and to offer a fresh start in his safe arms.

It will be a tragedy for our nation if individuals are not free to say what they like about matters of religion and belief.

We need to be able to hear every opinion, and be ready to debate what is right and wrong.

We need to be free to have ‘dangerous’ ideas heard, so that we can respectfully listen, and where needed, powerfully discuss and refute.

And we should follow the call of the Apostle Paul to “speak the truth, in love” in every sphere in which we live.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Georgie Pauwels via Flickr.com)

Coming up this weekend 7-8 December

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This week is our second last talk on our series in Acts, ‘Launching the Church‘. We will see Paul put on trial as he is accused of stirring up trouble amongst the Jews, but his hope in God continues to shine through. The section from the Bible is Acts 24:1-26:32 and it would be great if you could have a read of it before you come to church.

If you missed last week’s Bible talk then why not head over to jamberooanglican.com/talks where you can also hear the answers to the questions, and get details about how to subscribe to our podcast.

Each week we have a question and answer segment during church. Here are the questions we’ll be hearing answers to this week:

1 What happened to the 40 hunger strike people?
2 Why do Christians still need the Old Testament?
3 Can people predict the second coming of Jesus?
4 Will God forgive you if you commit suicide just to be with Him?
5 How do you know if God has answered your prayer?

Join us this Saturday at 5pm for our all-age service, where we have a kids program and share dinner together afterwards. A youth group will follow from 7:30-9pm for the teens. Or why not come along on Sunday at 9am for our more classic Anglican style service, followed by morning tea and espresso coffee!

Grace and peace,
Jodie

Acts: Launching the Church 16: Courageous Christianity Acts 21:18-23:35 Jodie McNeill – 30 Nov and 01 Dec 2019

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Courage and craziness.

Many people have been __________ for Christ.

Paul needed to __________ bring the financial support.

There were two separate ______ within the church.

Paul was rumoured to be removing Jewish _______.

For the sake of _____, Paul did Jewish religious acts.

Paul was _______ and falsely accused.

Paul’s words ______ the crowd.

Paul was a true blue ___.

Paul’s job was to tell ________ about Jesus.

Paul’s crime is that he’s an __________ of Christ.

Paul declares his _____ citizenship and avoids lashings.

The High Priest reacts _________ to Paul.

Paul __________ with the Pharisees.

In the face of conflict, Paul shows _______.

Jesus himself __________ Paul.

Hunger-striking Jews are determined to ____ Paul.

Paul is _________ from the enemies in Jerusalem.

When we’re ______ by Christ, we can’t keep quiet.

Grab a copy of this as a PDF with pictures to colour in here:Download

Church News for the week beginning 1st December

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OUR BIBLE TALK

This week we continue our series on Acts, ‘Launching the Church’, as we learn about the Courageous Christianity that the Apostle Paul shows as he confronts violent and hostile enemies as he returns to Jerusalem. It will be a fresh reminder to us of the need to trust in Jesus and be bold in his name.

MISSION OF THE MONTH

Our mission of the month is Scripture in Schools (SRE). You can support the SRE ministry by donating and buying from the mission table in the hall.

CLEANING AND MOWING ROSTER

Are you able to help with mowing and cleaning? Please let us know via response slip or email.

LADIES GUILD

The next Ladies Guild meeting will be on Saturday December 14th at 3pm. All the youth are also invited as it will be a planning meeting for our Christmas Eve service on the lawn.

BOOKSHOP FEEDBACK

We’d love to hear your feedback about the value of our bookshop to our church ministry. Let us know via response slip or email.

INTER-CHURCH CAROLS

Our famous ‘Carols in the Park’ events is on Tuesday 10th December in Reid Park at 6.30pm. Pack a picnic rug and a hamper, and be prepared for some joyful singing about Jesus!

CHRISTMAS SERVICES

This year we will be having our first-in-a-long-time Christmas Eve service! Come join us at 6pm on our new church lawn for a free sausage sizzle, then an open-air night of carols and fellowship. Our regular Christmas day service will be at 9am in the church.

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 makes a good song?

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One of the great joys of church is standing with others from all ages and stages to sing together songs that remind us of the wonderful things that God has done for us and to help us trust in the awesome promises that he has made to us.

That’s why it’s so important that we sing the best possible songs when we gather together.

When I choose songs for church, I try to pick songs that people like to sing!

Some songs are really hard to sing because the tune is complicated, or there’s a jump from the lowest to the highest note that is too large, or maybe the high notes are just too high!

But since it’s also important that the words work well, a good rule of thumb from Bob Kauflin is to determine if the song would ‘work’ if, for some reason, we had to simply read the words and not sing them.

In other words, is it a song that has a depth and beauty to it, even when there is no tune or accompaniment?

Ultimately, as people who love to know God deeply and truly, we want to make sure that the words go ‘with the grain’ of the teaching and the vibe of the Bible.

Good songs will help us grow in our Biblical knowledge of God, and reframe our minds in such a way that we see the world through God’s eyes.

And when a song works well, then it is a beautiful gift from God to help stir up in us a powerful emotion of joy, thankfulness, passion, and sometimes even repentance as “the word of Christ dwells richly among us” as we “sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. ” (Colossians 3:16)

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: michael_swan via Flickr.com)

Coming up this weekend 30 November – 01 December

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This week we continue our series on Acts, ‘Launching the Church‘, as we learn about the Courageous Christianity that the Apostle Paul shows as he confronts violent and hostile enemies as he returns to Jerusalem. It will be a fresh reminder to us of the need to trust in Jesus and be bold in his name.

Each week during our services we have a question and answer segment. If you have any questions, let us know via your response slips or by emailing them to office@jamberooanglican.com. Here are this week’s questions:

1 Since God used natural disasters to punish people in the Bible, why doesn’t he still do that today?

2 Did the man who fell out of the window defeat death?

3 Did Paul disobey the Holy Spirit in Acts 21:4 when he chose to continue to Jerusalem?

4 Is Jesus just as powerful as God?

5 Why do we seem to talk about Jesus more than God?

6 If a Christian is convinced that God is giving them a personal revelation of his calling and gifts, then how should they respond to someone who disagrees?

7 How can you find out what God’s will is for your life?

On Saturday evening at 5pm we have our family service with a kids program, followed by dinner for everyone and a youth group for the teens. Our more classic Anglican-style service is on Sunday mornings at 9am, followed by morning tea and hot espresso. If you have been thinking about coming to church, come along this week! I would love to meet you and be in fellowship with you. See you there!

Grace and peace,
Jodie

Acts: Launching the Church 15: The Pastor’s Heart Acts 20:1-21:17 Jodie McNeill – 23 and 24 November 2019

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The Pastor’s Heart.

Paul was a _____ guy with a pastor’s heart.

Paul followed Jesus on a _______ trip to Jerusalem.

Paul learns of a Jewish ____ to kill him.

We witness how the early church ________.

At the heart of the gathering was the _________.

Paul brings the young man back from the ____.

As we hear God’s word, we ____ God more.

Paul was doing the Lord’s ____.

The pain of ministry can _____ a pastor’s heart.

Paul was an __________ of Christ.

When you turn to Jesus you must ______ from sin.

The _____ of God drives Paul’s mission.

Paul shared the _____________ truths.

Pastors must _____ themselves and others.

The greatest ____ was the expense of Christ’s sacrifice.

False teachers will spiritually ______ Christians.

They must watch and care through _____.

Paul ministered without ________ gain.

The Spirit said Paul would ______ in Jerusalem.

Paul must still make the painful _______ to Jerusalem.

Paul went to Jerusalem for the ____ of Jesus.

Serving Christ is supposed to be ____.

____ for pastors.

Download a PDF of the outline with pictures to colour in here Download

Church News for the week beginning 24th November

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OUR BIBLE TALK

This week in our series on Acts, ‘Launching the Church‘, we will see through chapters 20 & 21 the evidence of a Pastor’s heart in Paul as he continues to teach the word of the Lord.

MISSION OF THE MONTH

Our mission of the month is CMS. Donate and buy from the mission table to help support our CMS partners.

VISION GATHERING

Please plan to join us on Saturday 30th November at 8am to 11am for our final Vision Gathering for the year. We’ll be prayerfully planning for our ministries for 2020 and we’d love everyone to join us.

RAY SPROULE’S FUNERAL

A funeral service for Ray will be held this Monday 25th November at 11am at Jamberoo Anglican Church, followed by refreshments by the Ladies’ Guild.

CLEANING AND MOWING ROSTER

Are you able to help with mowing and cleaning? Please let us know via response slip or email.

BOOKSHOP FEEDBACK

We’d love to hear your feedback about the value of our bookshop to our church ministry. Let us know via response slip or email.

LADIES GUILD

The next Ladies Guild meeting will be on Saturday December 14th at 3pm. All the youth are also invited as it will be a planning meeting for our Christmas Eve service on the lawn.

INTER-CHURCH CAROLS

Be sure to save Tuesday 10th December in your diaries for our famous ‘Carols in the Park’ event in Reid Park at 6.30pm.

CHRISTMAS SERVICES

This year we will be having our first-in-a-long-time Christmas Eve service! Come join us at 6:00pm on our new church lawn for a night of carols and fellowship. Includes a free sausage sizzle! Our regular Christmas day service will be at 9am in the church.

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.


Weather Warning

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The weather is a warning for us all (CREDIT: Maher Najm via Flickr)

The drought is getting worse and the fire emergency is escalating: our weather is causing grief to us all, and some far more than others.

The Bible has recorded some events in history when God brought about severe weather incidents as a way of punishing people.

Yet, when Jesus was questioned about a natural disaster that happened during his life on earth, he quickly pointed out that God doesn’t bring about these kinds of events in order to punish specific sins in specific people.

Jesus said, “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.” (Luke 13:2-3)

This means that it’s wrong and insensitive to suggest that the current bushfire and drought emergency is a special punishment from God for any recent community actions.

For, whilst God is in control of everything in his creation, he does not use these kinds of disasters to specifically punish people for particular sins.

In fact, Jesus said that God “gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” (Matthew 5:45).

However it is also true that every time tragedy or hardship affects us, we should stop and think about the coming judgement of every one of us.

This means that every tragedy is a wake-up call from God to make sure we’ve taken refuge in Jesus, who promises to protect us from judgement when we trust in him as our loving ruler and rescuer.

At this time of fire and drought we should pray for those who are suffering and use this moment to make sure we’ve each, personally made peace with God.

JODIE McNEILL