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

Cross-Cultural Imagination

/in /by

This week I messaged one of our missionaries, sharing about the joys that Mandy and I experienced during our recent holiday overseas.

She responded by saying that, “there is something very energising about entering into the other world of another culture… it does good things for our imaginations.”

As we were immersed alongside people who spoke a different language and followed a different rhythm of life, it forced me to look afresh at our own culture, and to consider again how our ‘normal’ is not the same for everyone.

What’s more, it gave me insights into how to engage with a world that needs to know how to follow Jesus and why it matters, as I had a fresh look at what we value and cherish.

Two of our church members are heading to Fiji in September with the Year 13 program to learn and to serve in an environment that is very different to their own, where they will also be given the opportunity to have their imagination energised.

As they experience life in a different culture it will help them look afresh at the life they live now, and will expose them to the joys and challenges of cross-cultural ministry.

Yet because the Year 13 program has been partnering with Christians in Fiji for fifteen years it means that this cross-cultural partnership has grown and flourished between our two countries as we’ve shared in gospel ministry… and long-term benefits are being seen.

The blessings of this cross-cultural experience flow both ways, as the Year 13’s are equipped for a lifetime of Christian service as they taste missionary life for a moment.

As Elise and Oscar prepare for this special adventure would you please join with me in praying and financially supporting them as they get ready to have their cross-cultural imagination energised, to God’s glory!

JODIE McNEILL

Strengthened by Grace

/in /by

Could you imagine how exhausting flying would be? Flap, flap, flap… again and again and again! 

Yes, I am sure soaring above the clouds wouldn’t be all bad, it would probably be exhilarating… but I can tell you right now, chances are I wouldn’t last 5 minutes.

Just like flying, following the Lord Jesus is both exhilarating and exhausting. 

It’s exhilarating to know Jesus and serve him with your life, but it can also be exhausting as you constantly pour yourself out to love and serve others.

Paul, a follower of Jesus, knows this reality all too well. So he encourages us with these words

2 Tim 2:1 …be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. [ESV] 

He encourages Timothy, a follower of Jesus, to be strengthened by the grace that is found in Christ. 

We are saved by this grace when we know Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. 

And, we are strengthened by this grace every time we spend a moment with him.

When we listen to Jesus from his word and talk to him in prayer, when we spend a moment with Jesus and focus on him, we are strengthened by his grace.

Just like how a bird is strengthened and continues to fly by a strong wind, so too is a follower of Jesus strengthened and continues to endure by God’s grace.

There is no end to this mighty wind! It’s a tornado of God’s love displayed and sustained through the powerful saving work of Christ!

If God’s grace was enough to save you, it will be more than enough to strengthen you every day.

Fill your life with these precious moments and let God’s grace strengthen you every day.

Why not spend a moment with Jesus right now? 

JACOB MIERENDORFF

Why Pray?

/in /by

What is your prayer life like?

It’s easy to drop spending time with God in prayer off our to-do list when life starts getting busy. 

We should remember our sovereign and loving God has asked us to pray and promises to hear us when we talk to him. 

God has commanded us in his word to be devoted and constant in prayer.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 (NIV)

Prayer is also our most powerful weapon against the spiritual battles, such as doubts and temptations that we face. 

As Christians we will continue to fight these spiritual forces until the final day when Jesus returns and rescues his people. 

Being constant in prayer helps us to stand firm and persevere against these spiritual attacks.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”  Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

God has invited us to bring everything and anything to him. We should be humble as we do this, trusting that our good and gracious God will give what’s best for us and to bring glory to his name.

Prayer should be a priority, something we do all the time, in any situation.

This year I have been keeping a prayer journal which has been so helpful in forming this habit. 

It has also been a great encouragement looking back through previous prayers and seeing how God has been answering them.

How can you make prayer a priority?

ELISE BAKER

Bus Evangelism & Year 13

/in /by

Imagine that you hop on a bus from Wollongong Uni to Fairy Meadow or another station nearby. You hop on and sit next to a complete stranger with the intent of sharing the gospel with them. 

This is a variation of walk up evangelism called ‘bus evangelism’. 

It’s definitely a challenge but totally worth it so that more people can hear about the good news of Christ!

A few weeks ago I had this very situation while visiting the Wollongong Uni Bible Group for a Year 13 evangelism training day.

2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV)

I have found Year 13 to be so encouraging and helpful for my faith walk with God. 

The fellowship and spiritual growth has been so good!

In a couple of months we’re going for a 3 week long mission trip to Fiji where we’ll be sharing God’s word to many churches, families and communities in many different locations throughout the south island of Fiji. 

This will also include a lot of walk up evangelistic situations which will be really challenging but also really important. 

A few of weeks ago we had an intensive where we learnt about the different culture of Fijians. It was so good because it helped us understand how we can better share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people from Fiji.

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

Thanks be to God for his gospel and the privilege it is to share this news with the whole world!

OSCAR MCNEILL

Living Water

/in /by

Sometimes I forget to drink water. I go about my day, surviving on coffee and toast. By the time the afternoon comes, I get a headache. But I only realise I am dehydrated after my headache, never before. I need water – coffee or other drinks won’t help. Nothing refreshes or rejuvenates like water does. I need it every day to survive and thrive.

Sometimes I forget, or put off reading my Bible. Life seems too busy to allow God to have input in my life. There are so many things to get distracted by, and reading God’s word is easy to make a low priority.

But just like we need water, we need Jesus.

Nothing this world has to offer can refresh and rejuvenate us like his word. 

Hebrews 4:12 says: For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

God’s word is alive and active! His word is a gift to us! 

If God cares enough to give us his word, he clearly thinks it’s important for us to read it.

Reading and listening to the Bible should be our number 1 priority. It is how we know God, and how he refines us to live for him.

In Luke 11:28, Jesus himself said “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

We shouldn’t wait until we get a spiritual headache to realise we need the water of God’s word. For our own good, listening to God should be a habit. Reading the Bible is not something we should do, it’s something we need to do.

Because like water, God’s word is the source of life.

BRAD VIDILINI

The Perfect Backdrop

/in /by

When was the last time you went to a jewellery store?

For me it was when I went to pick up an engagement ring so I could proposed to my lovely fiancé and (hopefully) soon to be wife.

I was absolutely dazzled! Firstly, by the price… and secondly, by the beauty of all the precious diamonds! 

They were displayed on a dark black velvet cloth, which helped them stand out even more.

The jeweller knows that black is the perfect backdrop for these precious diamonds because it lets the diamonds shine through in all their glory.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans he spends the first few chapters doing something similar.

Rom 3:10b No one is righteous— not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one… 19b the entire world is guilty before God.

Just like the jeweller Paul sets the scene for his message by showcasing the dark backdrop of human sinfulness and unrighteousness. He then continues;

Rom 3:23 “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

Every single human being has fallen short of God’s glorious and good standard. 

But, our sinfulness is the perfect backdrop for God’s righteousnesses to shine though!

Rom 3:24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

Against the dark backdrop of human sin God’s grace in Christ shines through like a marvellous diamond.

Praise be to our gracious God! He has freed us from sin and made us right in his sight!

JACOB MIERENDORFF

Controversial Conversion

/in /by

In all my years of being a Christian, there’s nothing I love more than seeing another person become a new follower of Jesus.

It’s such a joy to see someone go from living for themselves, with all the guilt and uncertainty, to now living for Jesus, with all the freedom and certainty for eternity.

Yet, not everyone shares the thrill of seeing a person become converted to Christ.

I was reminded of this when I read again about how Jesus sent a mob of demons out of a man, which led to the death of a large herd of pigs.

Sure, the impact of losing the livelihood of the livestock was a significant thing, but to see the joy and relief of the once-possessed man should certainly have overridden such concerns.

Yet, we read in Luke 8 that when the people saw the man who was freed from the demons “fully clothed and perfectly sane,” they were all afraid, and so:

“all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them.” (Luke 8:37)

The people were face-to-face with a modern miracle that brought complete release to a tortured man, and yet all they could do was drive Jesus away because of their fear.

When people meet Jesus and are changed, it can be confronting to others.

For, their new life will mean that they now turn away from some things that they once embraced and encouraged.

If some of those former things are valued highly by others, then that person’s conversion to Christ will be considered to be a challenge to others.

Yet, when a person knows how good it is to be forgiven by Jesus, there’s nothing that anyone can say that will take away that deep joy and certainty for eternity.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: K-State Research and Extension via Flickr.com)

The Worth of Wisdom

/in /by

How would you teach the value of wisdom to a six- or seven-year-old student in a Scripture (SRE) class?

That was the challenge this week as the syllabus required us to explain and celebrate the great gift of wisdom given by God to King Solomon.

For starters, it was tricky to try and simply explain what wisdom was, and why it was of value.

I said to them that wisdom is about knowing that it’s a good idea to use an umbrella on a rainy day with no wind, but it’s a bad idea to use an umbrella on a windy day with no rain.

The same action can be wise or unwise, depending on its context and situation.

This is why wisdom is such a good thing to have, especially as we are faced with things that are new and uncertain.

To that effect, the wisest thing that Solomon ever did was to ask for wisdom in the first place, for not only did the Lord supply that in spades, he also gave great riches to this king as a blessing for all who lived in God’s land.

The Scripture lesson wisely avoided discussing the details of the most famous example of Solomon’s wisdom, in which he was able to discern who was the true mother of a baby.

You can read the story for yourself at 1 Kings 3:16-27, but here is the response to the King’s actions: 

When all Israel heard the king’s decision, the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice. (1Kings 3:28)

Yet the most wise thing that anyone can do is recognise the need to have peace with God.

In our Scripture class we sang together these words (as accompanied by my trusty ukulele):

 “The greatest treasure in the whole, wide world is peace with God. It’s the only treasure that can never fade, even death can’t take it away.”

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Alon via Flickr.com)

God Doesn’t Grow Weary

/in /by

Over the past week, our staff team were blessed to attend the Wollongong Regional Ministry Conference, along with many others who serve in Anglican churches nearby.

A highlight was hearing Archbishop Kanishka offer a word of great comfort and encouragement to us, as we reflected on the challenges of serving during the past two years of the pandemic.

He preached to us from Isaiah chapter 40, where the Lord instructed Isaiah to, “Comfort, comfort my people… speak tenderly… tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned.” (verse 1 and 2)

This, alone, would be enough for us to have relief in the heart-filled word of our Lord.

Yet, this delightful chapter concludes with these wonderful words about the stamina of our God:

The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. […] He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (verses 28 to 31).

Our endurance comes from the Lord, who gives us power and strength as we simply trust in him and his goodness.

As Kanishka noted, “the way of comfort for us is to look outward to the God of grace and glory.”

As you reflect on your spiritual journey in the past two years, it’s normal to feel some degree of fatigue and even exhaustion.

But what a delightful comfort to know that the limitations of our creatureliness are a blessing, not a curse.

For, in our weakness and fatigue we are drawn to the rest and comfort of our maker who never grows weak or weary, and who gives us strength, in him.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Joseph Choi via Flickr.com)

True Reconciliation

/in /by

On the 26th of May, this country recognises Sorry Day and it remembers that over 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were taken from their families, many to pass, never to meet any of their loved ones.

Many are still walking on this earth looking to find their families. 

So it is still a raw thing and the trans-generational trauma is passed down through generations upon generations.  

It’s still a real thing in the lives of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders.

We can all say ‘sorry,’ but it is not the word we say, it’s the actions that we do that show that we recognise and show respect to one another and we mourn with those who mourn.

It’s important because you need to understand the past to know where we’ve been. 

One, that we don’t repeat it and, two, that in order to be reconciled we have to make amends and deal with it. 

So, I love when I think of God’s message, that he sent his Son down to deal with our sin, that his Son died upon the cross, that through the blood of Jesus, we are reconciled to him, and he rose in three days.

I love that image, that true reconciliation is done and is seen through the blood of Jesus Christ.

As God’s people, and as his church, we have the responsibility to be ambassadors of reconciliation. 

So I want to encourage us … that we would be bringing the true message of reconciliation to this country.

MICHAEL DUCKETT

The Chair of the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Ministry Committee

(This is an edited extract of the original post at sydneyanglicans.net)