Scott Morrison’s budget has been praised (mostly by the more right wing) and rubbished (ditto left wing). One of the issues Mr Morrison has tried to address is paying for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Under this scheme Australians with a permanent and significant disability are to receive the financial support they need. The scheme was begun by the Gillard government in 2013, but we are now told it never had enough money set aside to fulfill its aims.

Should we all pay an increase in the Medicare levy so that the scheme can have sufficient money? Or should the higher income earners pay a higher percentage than others, or even contribute all of the funds needed?

Certainly I myself would be way out of my depth if I were to try to figure out a budget for all Australians. But Scripture teaches that the strong should take care of the weak.

In this debate it means that those who work for remuneration should see it as their responsibility to share with those who are limited in their income because of a disability.

In our sermon on Galatians 2:1-10 we saw that the Jerusalem apostles added nothing to Paul’s gospel, but they asked Paul to do one thing in addition to preaching this gospel …

“all they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.” vs 10.

Graham 

What happens when God is removed from the centre of your life and replaced with achievement?

The ABC’s Four Corners recently ran a report on elite athletes who outlined their struggles once their career was over.

They struggled with depression, unemployment and emptiness.

Lauren Jackson, Australia’s most successful female basketballer, spoke of the end of her career like a second death and with no one there.

She also experienced the effects of withdrawal, both from the adrenaline highs of performance, but also from the mix of prescriptions drugs she took to help her body survive the wear and tear she endured.

Nathan Bracken, Australian test cricketer spoke of suffering from severe depression when he retired.

But what difference would Christ make to these athletes?

Eternity magazine asked a number of AFL players this question, including Gary Ablett Jnr., one of the greatest players to have ever played.

He has won AFL’s top award twice, and has two premierships, but he placed little importance on these achievements: “In my journey those things don’t bring fulfillment, my faith is everything.”

And because faith is everything, “it’s not about premierships, its about sharing Jesus.”

He shared his faith with a teammate who faced severe depression, injury, and addiction.

But when he heard about Jesus, he realised that, “football doesn’t define who I am, I get my identity from Jesus Christ.”

So when fame and fortune come to an end, when achievements fail, when they lose their spot in the team, when they are left with nothing, they’ll still have the number one thing, faith in Christ, and nothing can take that away.

And so next time you’re dreaming of what it would be like to be an elite athlete, remember, they are dreaming of something you already have: a rock-solid identity in Christ.

Simon Chaplin

The greatest tragedy of the sexual revolution is the mass killing of unborn children through the decriminalisation and legalisation of abortion.

Whilst the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be a painful choice for the parents, the impact is undoubtedly greatest upon the human whose life comes to an end in order to benefit his or her mother and/or father.

The reason our society accepts the sacrifice of the life of an unborn child for the sake of his or her parents is because we have adopted an ethical framework that seeks the greatest pleasure or benefit for the individual.

But because the unborn child is not able to express feelings or claim rights, they are not able to defend themselves against their unwilling sacrifice for the sake of their parents.

Yet, those who advocate for abortion will often defend their practices by choosing not to define a foetus as human until the moment the child is born.

However, if we choose to listen to the word of God, then he makes it clear that embryos and foetuses are as human as a fully-grown adult.

There are many times when the Bible speaks of how God relates personally to unborn children.

Psalm 139 speaks of the personal relationship of God to the foetus, and in Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 5, God says to Jeremiah that “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”

In God’s sight, the life of a foetus is equal to the life of a grownup, and this is why abortion must be seen as the killing of a human.

There are plans next week to introduce a bill before the NSW Parliament that will make abortion legal right up to the moment of birth.

Let us pray that our politicians do not vote to permit doctors to kill the very babies they should be caring for.

Please also consider signing the petition at our church in order to add your name to the voices seeking to oppose this legislation.

Jodie

Last year was the worst year on record for persecution of Christians worldwide.

According to ‘Open Doors,’ each month 332 were killed for their faith, 772 suffered serious violence and 214 churches were destroyed.

Once there was a network of Christian churches spreading east from Jerusalem through “Mesopotamia” and on into India.

Though not recorded in the NT, this missionary spread eastwards from Jerusalem must have started very early. When Marco Polo reached the court of Kublai Khan in 1266 in nowadays “Peking,” he was surprised to meet Christians there.

We sometimes forget that Christianity is a Middle Eastern (i.e. Asian) religion, that Jesus was a Jew, and Paul a Syrian or maybe a Turk. Armenia was the first ever officially Christian nation.

The buildings of the Eastern Christians in those early days typically had gold-painted domes on the roof, and this is no doubt the origin of the domes on mosques, since the churches were simply converted into mosques as Islam displaced the Christians.

And this process is being implemented in a vicious manner today.

Jakarta’s Christian governor Basuki Ahok is on trial for blasphemy for “insulting” the Koran. There are few who cannot see this as an attempt to bring a Christian leader down by any method that might work.

Coptic Christian Bahgat Zakhar, 58, refused to deny Jesus before being gunned down in cold blood in the Sinai region.

We can recall that these following words of Jesus apply to us as well as our persecuted brothers and sisters, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44.)

Hard though it be to love organisations like ISIS, we should pray for their change of heart.

We should find ways to identify with persecuted Christians for as Jesus said, “I was in prison and you came to visit me… truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:36 & 40.)

Graham 

Join us at Waterslea next weekend!

When I was nine years old I was invited to a Christian holiday camp by a friend from school.

It turned out that my friend, Julian, was a regular, churchgoing Christian, and he reached out to me to invite me to join him for a week of horse riding, canoeing and even air guns (back in the day!)

I still remember the campfire, the awesome leaders, and even the potatoes we peeled in the kitchen.

But what I’ll never forget was the message of the speaker about how to become friends with Jesus.

And at that camp I remember asking Jesus to forgive me and to let me follow him all my life.

Camps are a very special place to know Jesus and experience his love in a special community of believers.

Next weekend, our church is going away for a whole weekend together, to live, learn, love and laugh.

And we are set to be greatly blessed by the teaching of Peter Jensen, as he opens up God’s word to us in a practical and powerful way.

Peter’s four talks are, ‘The Birth of Culture,’ ‘The Gift of Community,’ ‘The Promise of Justice,’ and ‘The Power of Words.’

If you’ve never been on a church camp or weekendaway before, then there’s still time to join us.

And if you’ve been before, you’ll know that it’s an occasion not to be missed.

If you’re short of time, money, or transport, then there are ways to get you along.

But whatever you do, don’t pass up this opportunity to be with people of all ages and stages, from both Oak Flats and Jamberoo Anglican Churches, as together we meet Jesus, clothed in his word, present by his Holy Spirit, bringing glory to God.

See you there, God willing!

Jodie