Humanly speaking, it’s baffling to try and work out just why the religious leaders were so threatened by the message of Jesus that they were comfortable to punish and even execute those who preached this ‘good news’.

And yet even through these tragic events, Jesus kept building his church, and this is exactly what we see as we look at the next instalment in our series from the New Testament book of Acts called ‘Launching the Church’.

This Saturday and Sunday we’re looking at the remarkable message and courage of a man named Stephen, and we see how his word brought great jealousy and anger to the very people who should have welcomed him.

If you’re coming along with us this weekend, why not read Acts chapter 6 verse 38 to chapter 7 verse 60. The topic of the talk is ‘Stand up for Jesus’.

As well as the talk from the Bible, we’re going to hear answers to these questions that our people have asked via our response slips each week at church:

1 If we model our church on Acts 2:42 they why don’t we also share fully in our possessions?

2 Doesn’t Acts 4:32 suggest that the early Christians had no personal ownership of possessions?

3 Is Acts 5 the only place we learn that the Spirit is God, or does it reaffirm other teachings?

4 Would the flogging of the Apostles be the same as that which Jesus endured?

5 If we act independently due to our free will, then how can God have a plan for our lives?

6 How can we be more focussed on our relationship with Jesus?

7 What should we do if we become distracted from following Jesus?

So, what are you waiting for? Come and join us this weekend on Saturday night at 5pm (with kids’ program, hearty dinner, then youth group), or a more classic Anglican-style service at 9am on Sunday morning (serving delicious espresso coffee) .

Grace and peace, Jodie.

We’d love you to join us this weekend at our church, whether your the first time ever, your first time in a while, or maybe you’re with us most weekends. We’d love our church to be your church, if it’s not already.

Right now we’re in a series called ‘Launching the Church’, where we’re looking at the New Testament book of Acts and how a gang of a few hundred believers in Jesus quickly grew to many thousands in just a matter of weeks. This week it’s chapters 3 and 4, with the topic ‘The Launch of Persecution’, as we see how the extraordinary kick-start from the Day of Pentecost led to an amazing miracle, which then led to some pretty intense opposition from the legal eagles.

As part of our weekly church we have a ‘Question and Answer’ spot, where I get to answer questions you’ve asked last week about the Bible talk, or really, anything at all. Here are the questions for this coming weekend:

1 Where does the Bible say that the Holy Spirit is a ‘he’?
2 How did the Bible writer know that Judas went to hell?
3 After Pentecost, did the believers speak their original languages?
4 How long did it take to baptise 3000 people?
5 Why were people healed after touching Jesus?
6 Can Christians perform healing miracles today?
7 What stops Christians performing healing miracles today?

You can see that I’ve really got my homework cut out for me this week! So come and hear my answers and have your world expanded as you consider how God is working in his world.

So, we’d love you to join us at 5pm this Saturday with dinner, kids’ program, and a great, all-age service. Or come at 9am Sunday for a more classic-style Anglican service, with terrific espresso coffee. See you this weekend, God willing!

Grace and peace, Jodie.

This weekend we kick off our all-new, eighteen-week series on the book of Acts titled ‘Launching the Church’. It’s going to be a thrill to walk alongside the people who experienced the power of the Holy Spirit as the church experienced explosive growth in the weeks, months and years after Jesus’ death.

This is a perfect week to join us as we kick off this new series with Jesus’ words before he left the earth. That’s why this week’s talk is called ‘Prepare to Launch!’, as we look at Acts chapter one.

As we return to normal programming, we’re also going to have our popular question and answer segment, where I get the opportunity to answer your tough questions about what the Bible teaches about us and God.

These are the questions I’ll be tackling this weekend:

1. If God doesn’t forgive blasphemy then what hope do we have if we’ve ever committed this sin?
2. Why do we follow some Bible commands but not others? For example, why don’t our men pray with hands lifted up, and our women avoid wearing expensive jewellery?
3. Does a child still need to honour abusive parents?
4. Since wives have been abused by their husbands, shouldn’t we stop teaching submission?
5. Why didn’t Jesus write down his teachings and prayers rather than have it recorded by his apostles?

So, we’d really love you to join us at either 5pm Saturday for our all-age church (with creche, kids’ program, then dinner, then youth group), or 9am Sunday for our classic Anglican service (followed by tasty espresso and treats).

Grace and peace, Jodie.

This weekend we’re going to be getting together to hear from the Bible about the ‘Consuming Passion of a Dying Man’, as Mark Howard opens up God’s word in 2 Timothy to give us a clear picture of what matters most in life.

We’ll be meeting together at 5pm on Saturday night for our all-age service with stuff for kids, youth, and all-ages, with a hearty dinner straight after for you to enjoy. Or join us at 9am on Sunday morning for a more-classic Anglican service, followed by some tasty espresso.

We’d love you to join us!

Grace and peace, Jodie.

Well, we’ve almost made it to the end of our mammoth journey through the Old Testament book of Judges, but not without one more display of just what life is like when people walk away from the true and living God. This weekend we’ll see two, dramatic examples of idolatry and immorality, and it’s pretty full-on, to be honest.

But God has given us this bit of the Bible to help us know him and ourselves a whole lot more, so we’re going to bite down on the mouthguard, buckle up our seatbelts, and hold on! I’ll be preaching on the final five chapters of Judges.

As a follow-up to last week’s talk on Samson (and Delilah), we have a bunch of questions. I’ll be answering these on Saturday and Sunday:

1 What does the name ‘Samson’ mean?
2 Since Samson was bad, why didn’t God leave his side?
3 Was Samson literally ‘sick to death’ of his wife’s nagging?
4 How did Samson not realise that the Lord left him as soon as his hair was cut?
5 As Samson’s hair regrew, was his relationship with God also being restored?
6 Since the Lord is outside of time does that give insights into the ‘intermediate state’?
7 Since Christians are immediately with Christ after death then are non-Christians immediately in Hell, and will they be re-judged on the final day?
8 Why are there so many cases of mental illness and suicide if God truly loves us?

So, come along and be part of the action this weekend at 5pm on Saturday, which is ideal for all ages (featuring a creche and two kids’ programs), followed by a hearty dinner, then our youth group program. Or come along at 9am on Sunday morning for a more ‘classic’ Anglican-style service, followed by delicious espresso coffee.

If you’ve not come before or for a long time, then this will be a good weekend to join us. And if you’re a regular, why not bring along a friend to check out our great, little church in Jamberoo!

Grace and peace, Jodie.