Church News for the week beginning 3rd November

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OUR BIBLE TALK

As Jodie leads us through the next instalment of our Acts series, ‘Launching the Church’, we will see how Paul proclaimed that Jesus is the Messiah, despite a difficult crowd, jealousy and a treacherous journey. God’s strength and provision was shown, and Paul was able to continue to encourage his fellow brothers and help many come to know Christ. It is a great lesson, one that we can apply to our lives today.

MISSION OF THE MONTH

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

MONIQUE DARE-WARD MEMORIAL

A memorial service for Monique Dare-Ward will be held on Sunday 10th November at 2pm at Kiama Anglican Church.

PARISH COUNCIL

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on 12th November at 7pm.

LADIES GUILD

The next Ladies Guild meeting will be on November 9th at 3pm in the hall. All women in our church are invited to come, and find out how they can help serve over the Christmas festive season.

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 6:30pm on our new church lawn for a night of carols and fellowship. Our regular Christmas day service will be at 9am in the church.

Kanye’s Conversion

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Kanye West is one of the world’s most famous personalities, known not only for his music, fashion and politics, but also for his famous wife, Kim Kardashian.

This week Kanye released an album with the title ‘JESUS IS KING’, where he sings with great honesty and passion about his newfound Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

News of his conversion has caused a stir around the world, with both Christians and non-Christians expressing some scepticism about the authenticity of his new faith.

Yet the more that I’ve heard him speak this week, and the more I’ve listened to this album, the more I’m blown away by his passion for Jesus.

The man who once regarded himself as god has now made an unblushing declaration that Jesus is king, not Kanye.

His radical transformation reminded me of the conversion of the Apostle Paul, who went from being one of the Christianity’s most violent critics, to become its greatest advocate and proclaimer.

When Paul was converted, many of the Christians doubted his faith and feared for their lives.

Yet before long, the believers recognised him as a brother, and they praised God for the remarkable work of the Holy Spirit in bringing such dramatic transformation.

I’ve been praying a lot for Kanye this week.

I’m praying that he doesn’t grow weary of proclaiming Christ, and that he keeps pursuing his new-found passion for Christlike living.

And I’m praying that the slogan ‘JESUS IS KING’ will lead many others down the same pathway to Christ that Kanye now walks.

If you don’t know Jesus as King, then why not read the Bible like Kanye did, and see how Jesus can also turn your life around?

JODIE McNEILL

Coming up this weekend 2-3 November 2019

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As we head through the next instalment of our Acts series, ‘Launching the Church’, we will see how Paul proclaimed that Jesus is the Messiah, despite a difficult crowd, jealousy and a treacherous journey. God’s strength and provision was shown, and Paul was able to continue to encourage his fellow brothers and sisters, and help many come to know Christ. It is a great lesson, one that we can apply to our lives today.

During our services, we have a weekly question time. Please continue to ask questions via your response slips so we can learn more about God together. Here are the questions for this weekend:

1 When a Christian differs on important matters, is it OK to question them and their salvation?
2 If we challenge a Christian on an important view then should we worry about offending them?
3 Should we keep the law in the way it says in Acts 15:29?
4 What’s the difference between church and denomination?
5 If God has everything planned, why do we pray?
6 Is the Rapture going to happen like the ‘Left Behind’ books?
7 Because God is outside of time does this explain what happens from death to Christ’s return?

So what are you waiting for? Join us this Saturday at 5pm, with a kids’ program, followed by dinner and then youth group for the teens. Or come on Sunday morning at 9am for a more classic Anglican style service, and we can chat over some hot espresso and morning tea afterwards. See you there!

Acts: Launching the Church 11: The Council of Jerusalem Acts 15:1-16:5 Jodie McNeill – 26 and 27 October 2019

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Sydney Synod

The Council of _________.

What should happen with the Jewish _______?

The conflict ______.

We need to know when to _____ for the truth.

The issue needed __________ to avoid a split.

The Pharisee believers insisted on ____________.

It was always God’s plan to _______ Gentiles.

We are saved by _____ alone.

Jesus kept the ___ so we don’t need to.

Grace is a great ______!

The Old Testament _________ the Gentile inclusion.

The Gentiles should not be ________.

But the Gentiles need to keep some Jewish _______.

Keeping the rituals is ______ to the Jewish Christians.

The letter preserved _____ in the church.

The disagreement led to __________.

Paul has a deep ___________ for those he serves.

Keeping the truth clear is a ________.

Download the outline with pictures as a PDF hereDownload


Church News for the week beginning 27th October

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OUR BIBLE TALK

This weekend Jodie continues our series on Acts, ‘Launching the Church’, and will be speaking from chapter 15 about the Council of Jerusalem.
Next weekend, we will hear about Paul’s mission in Macedonia and how we can apply it to our lives today.

MISSION OF THE MONTH

Our Mission of the Month is Anglicare, and we can support this through the mission table, and by bringing toys and tucker to help people at Christmas.

LADIES GUILD

The next Ladies Guild meeting will be on November 9th at 3pm in the hall. All women in our church are invited to come, and find out how they can help serve over the Christmas festive season.

CHRISTMAS SERVICES

This year we will be having our first ever annual Christmas Eve service! Come join us at 6:30pm on the lawn for a night of carols and fellowship. Our regular Christmas day service will be at 9am in the church.

COMBINED CHURCHES 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.

God’s Gender Agenda

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When it comes to matters of human sexuality, the world wants people to think that God in his Bible tries to be the fun and freedom police.

The myth is that because church teaching places restrictions upon what people should do with their bodies that these rules prevent people from being truly happy.

One of the areas where this is claimed is the hot topic of gender identity.

When I grew up there were only two, clear options, but today when you register for Facebook, you can choose from up to 71 different genders.

Far from creating clarity, this only creates confusion, as people are challenged to consider whether their gender identity may be different to that which is listed on their birth certificate.

Yet, God has stated clearly that there are only two sexes, and that the biological sex is the same as the person’s gender, and vice versa.

Which means that other than the rare medical situation of ‘intersex’, we are all born either male or female, and God’s message is that we will find freedom if we learn to live in the skin we’re in.

So, instead of exploring options of other gender identities and the sexual expressions that often result, we should find satisfaction in the gender God’s given us.

Instead of cramping our style, it will free us from the tyranny of choice, and provide us with a confidence that we’re living God’s way.

At the same time, God offers unconditional forgiveness to us when we come to him and apologise for ignoring his clear word about how to live.

This is the freedom that comes from knowing God: the confidence to have forgiveness from our creator, and the promise of eternal life.

God’s plan for our lives is not to cramp our style but to release us from the tyranny of choice in order to give us the privilege of knowing the very best way to live in the world God has made in the bodies he has given to us.

JODIE McNEILL

Coming up this weekend 26-27 October

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Please join us this weekend as we continue our series on Acts , ‘Launching the Church’, as I speak God’s word from chapters 15 about the Council of Jerusalem. It might sound a bit dull talking about a council and politics and stuff, but let me assure you that some seriously important things were decided at what could otherwise have been a time of major crisis in the early church. And the outcome is awesome for us today!

Our regular question and answer segment is back in full force and you can look forward to this weekend for these questions below:

1 Was the Pentateuch written during the Babylonian exile?
2 Do you think that John 7:53-8:11 and Mark 16:9-20 are part of the Bible?
3 Doesn’t 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 describe the Pretribulation Rapture?
4 Why do we pray so hard for people we love to become believers if they haven’t been chosen by God?
5 What should be our response to knowing that there are many who have not been chosen (and we have)?
6 How do we have hope for someone’s death if they don’t believe in Christ?

Whether it’s your first time or your 100th at our church, I would love to see you this weekend at Saturday 5pm, where we can chat over some dinner afterwards, or Sunday 9am where the coffee is strong and morning tea is sweet. See you there!

Grace and peace,
Jodie

The First Missionary Journey Acts 12:25-14:28 19-20 October 2019 Jodie McNeill

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An idea that will change the world.

The gospel of Jesus is the greatest ____ ever.

Saul and Barnabas are sent on a _______.

They go first to the ____.

The message of Jesus is ___________!

Attempts to stop the gospel are _______.

Paul preaches the gospel to the ____.

The Jews need to ______ and be baptised.

The ____________ was planned and promised.

Forgiveness comes by ________ in Jesus.

The message of Jesus _______ the people.

After the Jews, Paul preached to the ________.

People thought Paul and Barnabas were ____.

Paul started his message with God’s ________.

There is evidence of God __________.

The Jews thought they’d stoned Paul to _____.

Paul has ____!

Don’t give up when you ______ for Jesus.

God will ultimately _______ his church.

Download a copy of this as a PDF hereDownload

Church News for the week beginning 19th October

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OUR BIBLE TALK

This weekend Jodie leads us back into our series on Acts, ‘Launching the Church’, as he tells us the story of Paul’s first missionary journey from Acts 13 and 14. Next weekend we will hear about The Council of Jerusalem as Jodie continues preaching God’s word from Acts.

MISSION OF THE MONTH

Our Mission of the Month is Anglicare, and we can support this through the mission table, and by bringing toys and tucker to help people at Christmas.

LADIES GUILD

The next Ladies Guild meeting will be on November 9th at 3pm in the hall. All women in our church are invited to come, and find out how they can help serve over the Christmas festive season.

QUESTION AND ANSWERS

Our regular question and answer segment will resume this week. To ask a question, simply fill out a response slip or email Jodie.

NEW ROSTERS ONLINE

Updated rosters have been published on Elvanto. If you are unavailable to serve when you have been rostered on, please let us know via Elvanto, your response slips or by emailing Kiarnay.

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.

When Jesus Wept

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The tears of Jesus give us hope for eternity (CREDIT: Martin Fisch, Flickr)

Given that Jesus is the most perfect, complete man who ever walked on the planet, it sometimes surprise us to think that he experienced genuine emotions.

When I asked my school Scripture class this week to suggest when they thought Jesus got all emotional, some thought it might have been when he was falsely accused or when he experienced the rejection of his own people whom he came to save.

However, one of the most famous times where he expressed his emotion was when he saw first hand the sadness of the sisters of Lazarus, the man who had recently died.

Jesus knew that the pain of the death of his friend would ultimately be used through the ages as a remarkable testimony to the power of Jesus over death, which would bring great glory to God the Father.

Yet even though this was the ultimate aim, it didn’t stop him personally feeling the pain of grief from death.

Jesus knows what it means to experience the loss of a loved one, and he knows how it hurts in ways that words cannot express.

It is for this reason that Jesus is able to truly comfort us when we turn to him in our grief, knowing that he has felt just the same kind of thing that we’ve felt.

But the great power of Jesus comes with the hope that death is ultimately dealt with by his own victory over death, so that the weeping that comes from death will one day cease as God, himself, wipes away our tears.

The power of Jesus over the grave gives us confidence that death is a part of life that will be put behind us as we ultimately pass from this life to the next, safe in the arms of Jesus.

JODIE McNEILL