If I were asked that question my first answer would be this: justification by faith.

And in the year of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation my answer would come all the more readily. But I’d be wrong.

I can still remember first reading Knowing God by the famous theologian J.I Packer where I discovered my mistake.

There he explains the greatest blessing we have as Christians is this: adoption as sons.

“Adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers, even higher than justification. Justification is the primary blessing of the Gospel because it meets our primary spiritual need. We all stand condemned under God’s judgment. So we need forgiveness of sins and assurance of a restored relationship with God before we need anything else in the world.

But this is not to say that justification is the highest blessing of the Gospel. Adoption is higher, because of the closer relationship with God that it involves.

Justification is a forensic idea conceiving God as judge. Adoption is a family idea conceived in terms of love and viewing God as father. In adoption God takes us into his family and fellowship and establishes us as his children and heirs. 

To be right with God as judge is a great thing. But to be loved and cared for by God the Father is a greater.” (p187)

Packer immediately goes on to cite Galatians where justification leads to the greater blessing of adoption:

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”  Galatians 4:4-6.

And so next time you are thinking of what the greatest blessing we have as Christians is, remember that we are adopted as children of God and we are able to call him our Father.

Simon Chaplin

It’s hard to imagine, but it’s only a relatively new concept to have a separate demographic called ‘youth.’

It started after the Industrial Revolution had driven young people from their rural villages to assemble in the urban factories.

No longer was the whole family living, working and worshipping together, as they had for thousands of years.

What’s more, the efficiency of the assembly line found its way into the church, with a series of different cradle-to-the-grave ministries that focus on age-specific groups.

This specialisation has many benefits, especially as a way of ensuring that children and youth are taught in a way that recognises that they learn and relate differently than adults do.

It has also been a good way to help reach people who are not yet part of the church, as our focused ministries to seniors, men, women, parents, singles, youth, and children, help ‘like attract like’ in our community.

Yet, maybe we will have a bigger impact on those inside and outside the church if we focus more on intergenerational ministry?

This is the message that Simon and I heard this week at Youthworks’ House Conference, where we heard visiting speaker Timothy Paul-Jones, Professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In his conference talk, he challenged us to keep developing a church culture, “in which segmentation and specialisation become exceptional instead of assumed,” and where these ministries and activities, “occur on particular occasions for clearly-defined purposes, but the typical pattern of ministry is multi-generational.”

For, he is convinced that “a generationally, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse church will exemplify a more powerful witness, a more resilient faith, and a greater reliance on gifts that the Holy Spirit alone can give.”

Let’s keep working together to explore ways we can minister together across the ages, as we seek to build Christ’s church as we await his return.

Jodie

New Bible talk series begins this weekend

This weekend we begin our new series on the New Testament book of Galatians called ‘Free Indeed!’ as Jodie preaches from Chapter 1 verses 1 to 10 with the title, “Freedom Deserted” .

Mission of the month: KBECET

KBECET (Kiama Board for Employing Christian Education Teachers) is our mission of the month. Support this ministry through the ‘Mission Table’ in the Hall.

Men’s Dinner

You’re invited to join the men of Oak Flats and beyond on Tuesday 2nd May to hear Archie Poulos at the Central Hotel, Shellharbour. RSVP via the comment card or 0439 561 373.

Dinner at the Bowlo

Join us this Thursday at 6pm at the Jamberoo Bowling Club for a relaxed meal together at the ‘Wok and Grill’ restaurant, for great steaks, tasty Chinese, and lots of laughs.

Mini Markets

Join us on Saturday 20th May, 9am to 12pm as the Ladies’ Guild host the mini-markets. Plants, cakes, bric-a-brac, local produce, books, craft, jewellery, coffee, tea & pikelets all on offer. A great day for the Jamberoo community. Contact 4236 0158 or 0430 043 765 for further information.

Petition against Abortion

There is an extreme abortion Bill currently before the NSW Parliament. If passed, this legislation would be one of the worst abortion laws in the world. You are encouraged to sign a petition at our Welcome Desk to request that the Legislative Council oppose this bill.

ChurchBot

We now have a new integration with Elvanto called ChurchBot. ChurchBot provides a way to find out about what’s happening in our church using Facebook Messenger. You will be able to “chat” to ChurchBot to access the Elvanto system, and you can RECEIVE reminders of volunteering, TAP to easily find out about your upcoming rosters, and ASK questions like “When am I on roster next month”. How great is that? For more information see the Facebook group or Valerie.

 

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 $5616.00, leaving a gap of $684.00.

Up to the end of the last calendar month we needed to have received $191,100. Compared to that total we received $171,812, leaving a gap of $19,288.

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 .

As we approach another Anzac Day, we are reminded again of the horrors of war.

The Australian War Memorial lists 102,825 people who have died as a result of service with Australian units.

It is sobering to consider the tragic, human cost of these conflicts.

Behind every name there is heartbreak, and behind every casualty there are tears.

Yet, despite this great cost, we know that the sacrifice of lives was not in vain: our nation is stronger for their courage and valour.

Yet, it is not only in the theatres of war that we witness conflict.

All relationships experience some form of conflict from time to time.

It is a normal part of life to disagree with others, but we must seek to show love in our conflicts by listening and loving others.

Sadly, even among Christians, we see conflicts that can often end up with painful outcomes.

As I have been preparing my Bible talks for our upcoming series on the Letter to the Galatians, I have been reminded of the conflict that Paul had with several of the core, Christian leaders:

When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. (Galatians 2:11-13)

The conflict was necessary because the truth was at stake.

Yet, despite this painful disagreement, God used this incident to see the gospel spread throughout the nations.

Serious conflict is painful and heartbreaking, but even through such tragedy, God remains sovereign.

After all, the greatest tragedy of all was the death of Jesus, which led to the greatest triumph of history.

Jodie.

Did you know that God has made us responsible for ruling the world?

In the book of Psalms, God’s people say to him,

“…what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:” (Psalm 8:4-6)

The Lord is king over the universe, and he’s put humans in charge of Planet Earth and beyond.

This is why humans have the authority to make decisions about animals and the environment.

God has given us this charge to rule everything under his command, and this is why a Biblical worldview has humans at the focal point of all decisions.

Yet, with much power comes much responsibility!

It is within our divinely-delegated power to do anything we like to our environment and to treat animals in any way we wish, but, God will hold us accountable for the decisions we make, as we rule his world under his kingship.

And at the heart of our leadership must be servanthood.

For, if we want to see what perfect human rule looks like, we should consider how Jesus rules.

His greatest act of leadership was not to set himself up as a powerful and dominant ruler.

Instead, his ultimate act of kingship was giving his life for the humans under his rule, so that he might taste death for those of us who obey his call to repent and believe in him.

Jesus’ death is an example of how to rule and serve, but most importantly, his death brings his people renewal by the Holy Spirit, so that we might lead with love.

How will this change the way you rule the world?

Jodie