This Tuesday night, the 21st February, our church at Jamberoo Anglican will be hosting a special, two-hour ‘Candidates Forum’ that will enable us to hear from the four people who want us to elect them as our representatives in the NSW Lower House.

It will be a packed, two-hour program from 7pm, where each candidate will be given a chance to deliver a short speech about the impact of faith on their policies and leadership.

As they prepare for the evening, I sent them four questions about issues we consider to be important.

Firstly, I asked them whether they support legislation that protects the freedom of religious bodies to operate in accordance with their values and to preference staff who align with them.

Secondly, I asked them to indicate their party’s response to the Crime Commission’s recommendation on poker machines, and what their party plans to do to address the epidemic of gambling harm in NSW.

Thirdly, I asked them whether they were willing to confirm their support for SRE and commit to seeing the reintroduction of the religious identity question to the school enrolment form.

Finally, I asked them that if there was a bill banning conversion therapy practices, whether they would commit to protecting consensual pastoral care such as prayer and other spiritual support for a person who wishes to live in accordance with their faith.

Our church prays for politicians every week because we know that our Lord God has placed people in positions of authority as his servants, and that they are sent for our good (Romans 13:1,4.)

That is why it’s great for us to hear from them on matters of faith, and provide a place where they, too, can hear from us about what we consider to be of greatest importance.

JODIE McNEILL

Our church loves having people of every age and stage together in church, actively participating and serving each other, to the glory of God.

At the same time, we’re also committed to teaching people in ways that most-effectively communicate according to their developmental stages.

To try and achieve both goals, we run kids’ programs during a part of our Sunday services, so that the younger people can have teaching that’s best for their learning.

Plus, now we’re introducing our all-new midweek kids’ program, Spark, we think it’s possible to keep the K to 6 kids in church a bit more than before, because they can now benefit from a 90-minute program each Friday from 4:30pm.

So, this year we’re trialling a change that sees the Joeys (babies to preschool) kids go out a little earlier (around the ten-minute mark) and have the Roos (Kindy to Year 6) kids stay in a little longer (around the 45-minute mark).

This will mean that the K to 6 kids can be in church to participate with the prayers, as well as hear the answers to the weekly questions—some of which they’ve been asking but not hearing the answers!

This will encourage our church to be even more intergenerational, as it will help us try and get older and younger people together to lead us in prayers, Bible readings, and other things upfront.

Of course, if younger kids want to stay in church with their parents or carers, we’re totally fine with that, and we’ll keep working hard to make the Bible talks as clear as possible for the widest audience.

When Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, he directly addressed the children (Ephesians 6:1-2) so we know that what we’re trying to do is pretty normal, at least for the early church.

But above all, we just love the picture of all ages and stages together… a slice of heaven!

JODIE McNEILL 

(Photo credit: toptenalternatives.co)

Throughout the Bible we constantly see God work in his universe by his powerful word
through his Holy Spirit.

So, since this is God’s chosen instrument, we devote ourselves to
proclaiming the word of Christ faithfully, according to how he has revealed
himself in the Bible.

So, we, with the Apostle Paul, declare that we are, “not ashamed of this Good News
about Christ” for “it is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes.
(Romans 1:16)

And with Paul, we resolve to, “tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching
everyone with all the wisdom God has given us” so that we might “present them to
God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.” Colossians 1:28.

Our vision is that each person in our village, valley and region will know
how to follow Jesus and why it matters… and it should come as no surprise
that this will come true as we proclaim Christ faithfully… all of us!

That is why the word of God features at the centre of our Sunday services, and is at the
heart of all we do as we seek to connect with this world that needs to know Jesus.

This is why we encourage every member to be a part of a growth group, so that each of
us might become mature in Christ, as well as providing an ideal place to introduce
newcomers to our Christian community.

In all of this, we are determined to faithfully proclaim Christ, because if we preach a
version of Christ or Christianity that is not consistent with what is taught in the Bible,
then we rob the gospel of its power, and we end up presenting a false message to a
world that needs to know Jesus.

Whether you’re a pulpit preacher or an everyday Christian with a story to tell, may the
Lord give us many opportunities to know and tell the gospel in 2023.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Garry Knight via Flickr.com)

As we launch a new year, it’s a perfect time to recommit to a deep dependence on our sovereign Lord, as individuals and as a church.

Recently our staff have drafted a mission statement that seeks to help our church focus on three areas that we know will lead us towards our vision to see each person in our village, valley and region know how to follow Jesus and why it matters.

The first of the three phrases says we will “pray to our sovereign Lord.”

Since we believe that our Lord God brings all growth and that he is the one who brings a person to trust in him, this means that we want to be active and enthusiastic in asking him to deliver his promises.

As we grow in prayer, we find some great inspiration in Paul’s letters.

So, in Philippians he prays, “that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.” (Philippians 1:9)

And for the Ephesians he ask them to pray for him, that God would give him, “the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.” (Ephesians 6:19)

And in Colossians he asks them to pray that, “God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ” and that he “will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.” (Colossians 4:3-4)

As we launch into 2023 may our church be passionate in praying that our love will overflow, that we’ll grow in knowledge and understanding, and that we’ll have many opportunities proclaim God’s message clearly.

Will you join us in praying like this in 2023?

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: t-bet via Flickr.com)

I love the classic carol, ‘O come, all you faithful,’ but the sense of being ‘joyful and triumphant’ sometimes feels artificially upbeat.

I know that the song taps into the excitement of coming to Bethlehem to behold the one who was born the king of angels—the Word of the Father now in flesh appearing.

Yet, in our moments of weakness and weariness, this confident chorus can clash with our cries for help.

Indeed, we recall the words of the baby who grew to be a man, who said:

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

With this in mind, we have welcomed the creation of a new carol entitled, ‘O Come All You Unfaithful,’ by Bob Kauflin and Lisa Clow.

Here are some of the phrases in the song:

O come all you unfaithful, come weak and unstable, come know you are not alone; O come barren and waiting ones, weary of praying, come see what your God has done; O come bitter and broken, come with fears unspoken, come taste of His perfect love; O come guilty and hiding ones, there is no need to run, see what your God has done; So come though you have nothing, come He is the offering, come see what your God has done.

The sentiment is completely different to the triumphant cry of the classic carol… and this resonates with us in a way that touches our weary and troubled hearts.

This Christmas, come to the boy who became a man, who invites you today to find rest from your burdens as you trust in him and experience afresh the freedom of forgiveness and the certainty of eternity.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Takashi Hososhima via Flickr.com)