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

What do you get out of church?

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jogging

Have you ever stopped to think about what you get out of church?

After all, we encourage people to carefully evaluate whether their investment of time or money or emotions is returning a good dividend.

So, if you had a membership with an organisation that didn’t give you sufficient benefits, then you might decide to leave and join elsewhere.

But church is very, very different.

That’s because the Christian church is the ultimate service organisation.

At its heart is Jesus, who is the ultimate example of the greatest servant of all, giving his life for those of us in his church.

And our response must be to serve, too.

Sometimes, when you’ve been coming along to a church for a while, it’s easy to start to feel less connected with what’s happening around the place.

My experience with joining a new church many years ago as a parishioner (not as the minister) was that it was only when I got myself ‘on the roster’ that I really felt that this new church was now my church.

If you’re new and you’re not yet ‘on the roster’ then we’d love you to be part of the action.

And if you’re a regular who has fallen off the roster for some reason, then you’re invited to jump back on, if you’re willing and able.

After all, as we read in 1 Corinthians 12, we are all members of the one body, and that one body has many different parts.

And as we look to the inspiration of Jesus as we seek to serve each other, we may well find that as we give to others we then get a whole lot more out of church than we did before!

For, we all have a part to play, and as we play that part, we all feel more a part of the place!

What does your future hold?

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If I knew with certainty what would happen to you in the next week, then this would put me in a position of great power and authority over your life.

The ability to tell the future is something that many people claim to possess, but clearly are unable to reliably demonstrate.

If they could, then they’d be banned from owning shares, placing bets, or from any other activity that relied on speculation.

And yet, God knows the future, and he is prepared to let us know some details about what will happen.

These words of prophecy can be found in the Bible, and they tell us the promises that God has for his people and for his creation.

He promises that he will be sending Jesus back soon to judge everyone for whether they’ve followed him as their loving ruler or not.

He promises that if we ask for forgiveness and if we trust in God, then because of the death of Jesus, he will not treat us like our sins deserve.

He promises that if we are his friends that this coming day of judgement is not something we should fear.

And he promises that in the meantime, he will continue to hear our every prayer, and to be with us through our times of personal trials and sufferings.

If you rely on Jesus as your loving ruler then you can know that he holds your future safely in his hands.

Which means that no matter what fears you might have for your own life or for the world, you can be sure that he is trustworthy and full of compassion.

And that’s the best fortune telling you’ll ever experience.

Who will lead the free world?

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Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump (CREDIT: DonkeyHotey via Flickr)

Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump (CREDIT: DonkeyHotey via Flickr)

Ever since the Cold War, people have described the President of the United States of America as the ‘leader of the Free World.’

It’s quite an awesome title to print on your business card.

And unless you’ve been blissfully enjoying a prolonged media blackout, you would know that this position has become vacant, and the successful candidate will learn of their fate this week.

Both candidates are somewhat controversial, to say the very least, and this has led some people to frustration and despair.

Yet, the good news is that no matter who wins the election, God continues to be the ultimate ruler of the free world.

In the Bible in the book of Daniel, God’s people were ruled by kings that were far from desirable.

They had sought to smash down the faith of God’s people by dragging them to Babylon.

Yet, even as these rulers ruled, God ruled over those rulers.

He brought them through much personal strife, and for some, it led them to recognise that the Lord is the ultimate ruler of all.

So much so that King Nebuchadnezzar could say this of God that, “his dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.” (Daniel 4:34)

Yet, as this same King realised the hard way, God is able to make his rule clear to those who have positions of power in the world:

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. (Daniel 4:37)

No matter who wins this week, we must remember that God is still on his throne.

And given the choice that faces the citizens of the United States of America, this is a great relief.

The great Australian dream

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It’s been said that owning your own home is the great Australian dream.

After all, people say it feels good to know they’ve got the stability and security of having full control of the roof over their head.

Yet it’s increasingly hard to afford a home, and even when a person does, there’s no guarantee that it will deliver the comfort they crave.

Plus, it doesn’t really matter how much a person owns on Earth if they don’t have Heaven sorted out.

That’s why Jesus’ famous words in John chapter 14 cut across the great Aussie dream. He said:

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:2-3)

The way we get a guaranteed booking in God’s house is to receive the key from Jesus, at his expense.

After all, Jesus said that he was going to that house in order to come back and take his followers to be with him.

This is the only sure-thing that we can rely upon, especially as we seek security in an ever-changing world.

In Jesus can we find the only, solid foundation for life in this world and the next.

And this will give us much more than the great Australian dream can ever promise.

For, if we don’t trust in Jesus, we won’t have the security, stability and safety of living in God’s heavenly house.

Where’s your home?

Are you hungry for the Bible?

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open_bible

Do you hunger for God’s word like a big plate of bacon and eggs?

It might seem strange to compare the Bible to our breakfast, but this is how Job spoke of his hunger for God’s word:

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. (Job 23:12b)

Can you say the same thing?

During the question time and my talk last week I spoke of how I try to read a bit of the Bible every day.

It’s not a ritual that I’ve kept every day of my Christian life, and in fact there have been many, long breaks from this daily habit.

Yet, every day is a new day, and I’m thankful to God that I’ve been able to be pretty regular in this routine this year… and I’m loving it!

I’m using an app on my iPhone called ‘YouVersion’ (also known as ‘Bible’). It enables me to select a daily Bible reading plan, and it helps remind me to read the next bit, each day, which I can read right on that app.

If you’ve never started a regular routine, then why not start tomorrow morning? Just read a few verses, and see how you go. It might turn into a habit really quickly.

Now, the reason I try and read the Bible each day is that it’s great to keep filling my heart and mind with the things of God, especially due to the barrage of information around me that keeps pushing God aside.

It’s a great joy to know God more and more, and to know who it is who loves me so much that he’d send his son to die for me.

And it’s a great way to prime my mind to pray to God, since it helps me know how God thinks and what he thinks of me.

So, what are you waiting for?

Showing love in the marriage debate

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Marriage

This week at the Synod meeting of the Sydney Anglican Church there was a lengthy discussion about the present debate on the redefinition of marriage.

During this discussion, we thanked the Archbishop’s Plebiscite Task Force for the work they had done in preparing a booklet to help educate people about the issue.

Whilst this booklet is still in draft format for review, it was reported on by the media, and its contents were quoted and discussed.

I am looking forward to distributing the final version of this booklet to you in the next few months.

But as a taste, here is a helpful section that tells us why that we are acting as good neighbours when we share the good and warn of the bad:

God’s plan for marriage brings positive things for children and society. Even for people who don’t believe marriage is a gift from God, the vast majority of Australians know that marriage brings good.

It’s not surprising that, if we abandon God’s good plan for marriage and define it another way, there will be consequences. And many of them may be negative. Christians have been way too silent on this. We can’t be good neighbours and stay silent on the damage that can be done if we change the meaning of marriage.

Because we’ve been largely silent until now, most Australians are simply unaware of the consequences of redefining marriage – the consequences for families and children, the consequences of removing gender difference from our societal structure and the consequences for freedom of speech.

Let’s look at those consequences and how we can talk about them with our neighbours – whether they’re believing people or not.

Let’s pray that this important discussion can be carried out with respect and love.

Let’s also pray that this discussion will glorify God and lead us to many gospel conversations.

Should you be a gospel worker?

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Recruiting the next generation of gospel workers at this year's MTS Mission Minded Conference

Recruiting the next generation of gospel workers at this year’s MTS Mission Minded Conference

I’ve always found it hard to describe my job.

You’d think it would be easy enough to just say that I’m an ‘Anglican Minister’.

But the problem is that this creates the impression that only paid and ordained people ‘do’ the ministry in the church.

Yet, when we look in the Bible at Ephesians chapter 4, we see that all of Jesus’ people are servants (ministers) who work to build Christ’s church:

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…

So, if you’re a follower of Jesus, then you’re a minister!

There are so many ways to minister: you can do the Bible reading during a church service, or set up the chairs, or do a talk in the kids’ ministry, or provide morning tea to our seniors.

After all, we’re all in the ministry!

But as we also saw in Ephesians, God uses some particular ministers to speak the gospel in order to equip all Christians for ministry.

And that’s why we still need some specific leaders in the church… and some of them will do it as their ‘job.’

So what do we call this kind of work?

At last weekend’s ‘MTS Mission Minded’ conference, I became convinced that the best description is ‘gospel work.’

So, for people who have their ‘job’ as a ‘worker’ who speaks the gospel to believers and unbelievers, this describes the heart of the task.

Should you be considering gospel work?

PS – I’m still looking for an apprentice gospel worker to train in our church as an MTS Apprentice… let me know if you’re interested…!

Why God thinks cops are tops

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Police Remembrance

On this National Police Remembrance Day, it’s worth knowing that God thinks that cops are tops.

In the book of Romans, chapter 13 verse 1, we read that everyone should “be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” 

God has given authority to the New South Wales Police Force, which means that when they carry out their duties, they are doing his work in his world.

Whether it’s cancelling a drunk driver’s licence, or protecting a vulnerable person from abuse, our police force are doing God’s work in his world.

Indeed, the next verse in the Bible shows just how much authority they have from God in their job.

The Bible says, “Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”

But as this verse reminds us, we live in a world that does not willingly accept authority, and so we should expect people to rebel against the authority that God has given the police.

And this comes from the fact that all humans are rebels against God, by nature.

But praise God that Jesus has sacrificed his life, taking the punishment we deserve, and giving us the forgiveness we don’t deserve.

And to take advantage of this, all a person needs to do is to say sorry for rebelling, and rely on God as loving ruler.

This is the greatest act of sacrifice, and also a great model for those who risk life and limb to protect and to serve.

And this day we honour the members of our police force, along with their family and friends, who together are involved in carrying out God’s authority in this world that he has created.

Making the most of our milestones

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jemimah-first-and-last-day-of-school

Jemimah’s first and last day of school

Throughout life we experience a range of milestones.

These are events that show the significant progress we have made along the path of life, and they give us an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going.

Milestones come in many shapes and forms, and sometimes they are the ‘firsts’.

So, there is the milestone of our first step, or our first tooth, or the first day of school, or the first day in the workforce, or the first day of marriage, or the first day of retirement.

Some milestones are the ‘lasts’.

It might be the last day in nappies, or the last day of an apprenticeship or degree, or the last day in the workforce.

This week my daughter Jemimah experienced her last day of school, and along with thousands of others, she has been able to stop and reflect on this milestone.

On Monday she was given the opportunity to address all of the students and teachers in her school at the final chapel service, and in this talk she made the most of this milestone.

She encouraged them all to make sure they were ready for the biggest thing that they should ever need to worry about: the return of Jesus.

After all, life is short, and nobody knows just how much longer they will be alive to make the choice to repent and rely on Jesus as our loving ruler.

You may be a long way away from your next milestone, but as you watch others experience their ‘firsts’ and ‘lasts’ it is a good opportunity for each of us to reflect about our life’s journey.

Are you ready for the return of Jesus? 

The death of death

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We know that Jesus has dealt with death, and yet we still have loved ones who grieve at the passing away of family and friends.

This is painful for us today, but for the first Christians, it was also confusing.

They had seen Jesus’ power over death when he raised Lazarus to life, and his empty tomb was evidence that he’d cured death by his own resurrection.

So what was happening to the believers in Jesus who were still experiencing death?

In 1 Thessalonians, we read words of wisdom and comfort for those who were confused and saddened by death.

The words were written so that they would not be “uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:14)

And it turns out that whilst death is conquered, there is still a final chapter to be played out in the future:

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)

Death has been conquered by Jesus, but we still await the final day when the present age will come to a close and when eternity will begin and never end.

This is a great source of encouragement, and something we must continue to remind each other. Do not give up hope, but keep waiting!