This is the latest blurb that is published on the front of our weekly bulletin

The Star of Bethlehem

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When most of us think of the star of Bethlehem, we think of the special astronomical event that happened at the time of the birth of Jesus, that alerted astrologers to the birth of a special king.

For we read in Matthew’s Gospel:

About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:1b-2

If you travel today to Bethlehem, you’ll see a much-newer star that is made out of metal on the marble floor of an underground room in the Church of the Nativity.

The image here is a photo I took of that location when Mandy and I visited a few years ago.

As with so many of the ‘holy sites’, this has little resemblance to the original setting at which the historical events of the Bible took place.

There was no stable, no manger, and nothing at all like the well-known nativity scenes that pop up at this time of the year around shopping centres.

Yet, if this location is correct, this site is the place where the creator of the universe breathed his first breath and cried his first cry.

The site is not to be revered, but as a physical location on a map, it reminds us afresh that the events of Christmas really took place.

The Son of God truly became man, and this man Jesus lived a life without sin so that at his death, he could take the punishment for our sin, in our place.

The star of Bethlehem is more of an ‘X Marks The Spot’ of the birth place of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us!

That’s the greatest treasure in the world!

JODIE McNEILL

O Come All You Unfaithful

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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)

The Thrill of Hope

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Christmas is a wonderful time for us to reflect on the coming of Jesus… and it’s also a great time for people to come to Jesus!

Every Sunday service is already ideal for newcomers to attend our church, so if you’re thinking of popping in and visiting, or if you’re waiting for an excuse to invite someone along to see what we do, then there’s no need to wait for Christmas or Easter.

But at the same time, our outdoors services on Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday provide a special event that might be perfect for a first-timer to enjoy our hospitality and to experience a taste of what we love to do every week.

This year we’re having our regular Christmas Eve carols at 6pm on the lawn, but we’re also starting the afternoon with some all-age games from 5pm, along with our classic sausage sizzle… including the famous ‘Zooper Dooper Wheelbarrow!’.

After the outdoor service we’ll be sharing gingerbread cookies and hot chocolates from 7pm, along with more, all-age games, together.

Then on Sunday morning it’s also Christmas Day, so it’s 9am at church with a normal feel, but with an extra-special opportunity to reflect together about the miracle of God becoming human to save us… the thrill of hope!

If you’re a regular member of our church, then there are lots of big and little ways to be involved with the event, so please let Jacob Mierendorff know if you’re willing and able to help.

We’re praying that this will be a really special Christmas at Jamberoo Anglican, and that through the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day events that even more people in our village, valley and region will know how to follow Jesus and why it matters… especially at Christmas!

Mobilised for Mission!

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This week our staff team headed off for a two-day retreat to prayerfully reflect on the ministry of our church and our mission for the future.

We considered together a ‘Biblical Theology of Edification,’ that helped us think about how Jesus is building his church (Matthew 16:16) and the role that we are to take.

Then, we reflected on our vision statement, and from this, we began work on an accompanying mission statement to help us think about how we should seek “to see each person in our village, valley and region know how to follow Jesus and why it matters.”

From this we drafted this mission statement, for your reflection and comment:

Our mission is to:
Pray to our sovereign Lord;
Equip people for ministry, and;
Proclaim Christ faithfully.

It’s still a draft, and we’d love your feedback and thoughts as we consider what God expects us to be doing as we take our part in the building of Christ’s church.

But these are the reasons we chose these three words to summarise our role.

Firstly, we want to genuinely depend on the Holy Spirit as we pray to our sovereign Lord about all things… and especially for our vision of our village, valley and region.

Secondly, we’ll focus on equipping every person in our church and beyond to take their part in the ministry that will work together towards the vision becoming a reality.

Thirdly, we’ll devote ourselves to using ‘the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God’, as we proclaim Christ faithfully to all.

Over the next three weeks I look forward to sharing a short reflection on why these are the three things we should focus on as we seek to see our vision become a reality, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God.

What do you think of the mission statement? How will it challenge how you think about our church?

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Kentucky National Guard via Flickr.com)

The Blessing of Baptism

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Baptism is a special washing of water that is a sign of God’s washing away of our sin that comes from believing in the death of Jesus and his resurrection.

Baptism doesn’t save someone from their sin but it does signify that a person is part of the household of God, a member of the church.

When a person becomes a Christian when they are older than a child, they can declare their own faith when they are baptised before the church.

But, when an infant is born into a family with a believing parent, we baptise those babies to show they are a member of the church because they are in a household of Christian parents.

When those infants grow older, we pray that they will own their own faith, and declare it publicly at a ‘Confirmation’ service.

The New Testament shows a close connection between the circumcision of baby boys in the Old Covenant with the baptism of babies in the New Covenant (see Colossians 2:11-12).

There is also a statement in 1 Corinthians 7:14 that says that children of an unbelieving father are considered to be “sanctified.”

Mandy and I baptised our four children when they were babies so that we could receive this wonderful sign from Jesus that declares to the church that our children are Christians because they’re born to Christian parents.

We’ve always spoken of our children as Christians, even before they could walk or talk, and we’ve prayed that our children would one day receive all the benefits of what their baptism points to when they are able to own that faith when they are older.

So, we haven’t prayed that our kids would grow up to become Christians, but instead have prayed that they’d grow up to own their faith, which they publicly declared at their Confirmation service.

If you or a member of your family would like to be baptised, then I’d love to chat with you to make a time for this special event in the life of our church.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Colin Bowern via Flickr.com)

Reconciliation Action

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At the recent gathering of leaders at our Sydney Anglican Synod, we affirmed our commitment to seek reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

We want to support and encourage every person, parish and Diocesan organisation to partner in Indigenous Ministry through the development of an Action Plan.

As we develop this plan, we pray that it will encourage the development of personal relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with a view to walk alongside them, as well as partnering in prayer and partnering financially and in other practical ways with one or more Indigenous ministries.

To make this happen, I’m looking to gather a group of people to help us develop such an Action Plan, and if you’re willing and able, please let me know.

After we establish that group, I’m hoping we’ll have a fresh look at ways to appropriately include acknowledgements of country in our ministries.

In the meantime, the Bush Church Aid Society has developed a Reconciliation Action Plan that can help us prepare our own plan at Jamberoo Anglican.

Within that document is this Acknowledgment of Country statement, which I have adapted for our own context.

As we gather here, we acknowledge the triune God, the Creator of heaven and earth and His ownership of all things. We recognise that He gave stewardship of these lands upon which we meet to the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal Nation. In his sovereignty, He has allowed other people groups to migrate to these shores. We acknowledge the cultures of our First Nations Peoples and are thankful for the communities that we share together now. We pay our respects to their elders and leaders, both past and present, and those who are rising up to become leaders. 

JODIE McNEILL

(This artwork is featured on the cover of the Bush Church Aid Reconciliation Action Plan, and is created by Artist Melissa Lilley, a Yankunytjatjara woman from South Australia)

Hello Sunday Night!

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This weekend we’re moving our Saturday night service to the all-new time of 4pm Sunday.

As we’ve been saying for months, the only thing we’re changing is the day and the time… but everything else stays the same.

We’ll start church at 4pm, then around half an hour into the service, the children will head out to their special kids’ programs in the hall.

Then after 5:30pm it’s dinner time in the hall and on our lawn, which will be followed by lots of informal games and hanging out with people of all ages and stages, together.

Saturday night is often when celebrations, events and social occasions occur, so our members have often needed to choose between church or meeting with family, friends and community contacts.

As we seek to connect with the people in our village, valley and region, it makes sense to free up Saturday nights to enjoy hospitality with others not yet in our church, as Christ’s ambassadors.

I’m really looking forward to spending extra time with friends, family and people in my neighbourhood as we all now have an extra spot in our diaries to enjoy meals with special guests in our home… and I’m sure you’ll be able to take up the same opportunity, too.

There are many other good reasons for moving from Saturday night to Sunday, such as helping those who attend two services on a weekend, creating a day’s gap between youth group and church, and enabling people to attend church when they’re away for a weekend.

We’re praying that this change will be a great step forward as we pray that each person in our village, valley and region will know how to follow Jesus and why it matters.

See you at 9am or 4pm this Sunday… or why not both!

JODIE McNEILL

Trick or Treat?

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When it comes to Halloween, Christians have a wide range of views about whether it’s helpful, harmful, or something in between.

It all started with a pagan festival to mark the start of the darkness of winter, called the winter ‘solstice.’

Then in the fourth century, Christians adopted that festival as their own, calling it ‘All Saints Day’ to remember those who were killed by the Romans for following Jesus.

The night before ‘All Saints Day’ (or all ‘Hallows’ Day) became known as ‘Hallows Eve,’ or ‘Halloween.’

People started to get very superstitious about Halloween, and so they made lanterns to try and scare away evil spirits, with their tricks and treats.

For this reason, many Christians avoid this event because of how it distorts and glorifies the dark, spiritual world.

Yet, most people around us just see it as a fun opportunity to dress up in spooky outfits and walk around extorting strangers to give them lollies.

So, perhaps it might be a really good opportunity for us to talk about how Jesus defeated Satan on the cross?

We could share this verse about Jesus:

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Colossians 1:13-14

What’s more, we can tell people that when you trust in Jesus, we can stand against the powers of the devil:

Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:11-12

Maybe Halloween is another time of the year when people might be more open to talk about Jesus and how he alone can give us certainty for eternity though his victory over evil?

JODIE McNEILL

(photo credit: Maddy Baker from freelyphotos.com)

The Irish Un-Settler

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Sullivan, our English Settler, is our most effective pre-evangelistic tool, for as we walk him, he brings people to us.

They talk to us about him, ask about the breed, notice our accent, tell us they have a relative in Perth and ask if we’ve met them, then ask, “What are you doing here?”

In Sydney that would be an open door, wouldn’t it?

We’d say, “I’m planting a new church,” or, “I’m starting a new congregation,” or even, “I’m a minister of a church.”

It would be an open door everywhere else we’ve lived, from Southern England and the midlands, to Northern Ireland… but not in Dublin.

Those words mean different things in Ireland.

Grace doesn’t mean, “God’s undeserved favour to us, primarily in Jesus Christ,” and church doesn’t mean, “A gathering of believers in Jesus Christ.”

Tomas, a Dubliner born and bred, and one of our dog-walking contacts, said,“Cam, you’ve got to understand, the Irish have suffered under two oppressors: the English and the Catholic Church.”

To Tomas and to our other neighbours, the words I use to speak about the wonderful message of reconciliation of God to us by the death of Jesus on the cross represent oppression and abuse.

If we say, “we’re planting a new church,” many hear, “we’re starting a new agency of tyranny.”

I also walk Sully in the Silicon Docks, where companies have pet-friendly offices.

Two older men told me much the same as Tomas: “The English tried to crush our culture, and the church tried to crush our spirit.”

We’re working out how to speak about God’s love when the words, ‘Jesus’ and ‘Church’ are associated with abuse, coverup and abduction.

That’s why we’re so thankful for our partnership with Jamberoo Anglican, and we praise God that you are with us as we work to plant a new church in Dublin… and as we try and help people understand why that’s actually a really good thing!.

CAMERON JONES

Nourishing Relationships

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Being a Christian woman in today’s world is hard, no matter what age or stage of life you are in.

You may be a young woman leaving school, entering the workforce and navigating new relationships.

Or you may be single, or newly-married, or perhaps you’ve just become a mother.

Or maybe you’ve now become an empty-nester or grandmother or widow?

We know that it really does take a village to raise a child, and our church can provide that village to help each other.

So often women tell me they would love an ‘older’ Christian woman to walk alongside them—sometimes just to listen, to advise, or to read the Bible and pray with them.

This is what Paul talks about in Titus 2 where he calls older women to be mentors, advisors and role models for younger women.

It seems we are all looking for that older, godly woman to be our mentor—but maybe that person might be you?

However, you might look at your life and think that it’s just too messy to have anything to offer another woman.

But here’s the thing: we all have messy lives, and the experiences you have lived will be of great value to help equip you to listen, advise and mentor other women.

That’s why we’ve launched ‘Nourish’: a place for women of all ages and walks of life to connect with one another over a lovely morning tea.

We plan to meet in the hall on every Thursday morning from 9.30 to 11.30am during school terms.

While we’re not specifically a craft group, please feel free to bring your knitting, crochet, cross stitch, or whatever if you’d like.

We love little ones, so please feel free to bring along toddlers… and we’ll even have some morning tea available for the kids!

So whatever your age and stage of life… no matter whether you’re single, married, widowed, a mother or a grandmother, we’d love you to join us at Nourish.

SANDEE BATELIC

(Photo credit: Bere Vazquez via Flickr.com)