This is the latest blurb that is published on the front of our weekly bulletin
GOOD FRIDAY – 9am all-age service to remember the earth-shattering death of Jesus and to celebrate his forgiveness… with espresso and hot cross buns.
EASTER SUNDAY – 9am free bacon and egg BBQ breakfast, followed at 10am on our lawn for a special, open-air, all-age celebration of Jesus coming back to life, then hot cross buns and espresso with lots of fun games for young and old.
Everyone is welcome to this FREE celebration of the most important weekend of the year!
The Holy Spirit has a message that he’s telling the world—and it’s all about the need for everyone to personally know Jesus.
On the night before he died, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will “convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” (John 16:8)
This is the clear message of the Spirit, and his word has three main points.
Firstly, The Spirit tells the world that it has a broken relationship with God, which is the ‘sin’ of refusing to believe in Jesus.
Secondly, The Spirit tells the world that it can become reconciled with God, because Jesus died and rose and then returned to be with his heavenly Father.
Thirdly, The Spirit tells the world that it needs to act upon this offer of forgiveness, because judgement is coming soon.
The work of the Holy Spirit is to bring a message of sin, righteousness and judgement to the world—and he uses the followers of Jesus to share it with the world.
Easter is such a wonderful occasion to share the message of the Holy Spirit with a world that needs to know the reconciliation of Jesus before it’s too late.
Because at Easter, we learn about why the world needs Jesus, what Jesus did on the cross, and why we need to ask for forgiveness with Jesus before he comes back soon.
This Easter we’re going to hear about the Spirit of fulfilment on Good Friday (from John 19:28-37) then on Easter Sunday we’ll hear about the Spirit of Peace (from John 20:19-23).
There’s no better time to come to Jesus than Easter.
Will you join us for church this Easter?
JODIE McNEILL
In my report to Tuesday night’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), I drew attention to the important place of children’s and youth ministry in the life of our church.
Our ministry to youth and children is not our most important ministry, but I believe it’s our most strategic ministry at this time.
Around four out of five people become Christians before they become adults, which shows us that younger people are more open to considering the big things about life, including the need to follow their creator Jesus as king.
Plus, when people decide to follow Jesus when they’re younger, it means they’re better-placed to head down the pathway of Bible college and word ministry.
So, our church has decided to invest deeply in ministry to kids and youth by employing a part-time youth minister, and more recently, a part-time children’s minister.
Already, we’ve seen the fruit of this strategy, as young people are not only encouraged to grow in their own knowledge and love of God, but they’re also emboldened to naturally invite friends from school to join them at church with their household.
Plus, when a family visits us for the first time, they will know that our church is a place that focuses on growing their kids and youth, providing a great place for them to choose as their spiritual home.
We pray that our kids and youth ministry will keep growing so that more young people and their households might know how to follow Jesus and why it matters.
Pray for Brad, Rachel, and all our youth and children’s leaders, as they lovingly bring the word of God to the young people in our church and in our world.
There’s nothing more strategic for the growth of God’s kingdom!
JODIE McNEILL
When I preach at church or make posts on social media, I don’t expect violent, physical attacks from those who disagree with me.
Sadly that is not the case in other parts of the world, where people risk their lives when they meet for church and when they say they worship Jesus.
Today more than 350 million Christians live under serious persecution for their faith, which makes Christianity the world’s most persecuted religion.
In the West, we usually don’t get physically attacked for saying we follow Jesus, but nonetheless the persecution of Christians is getting stronger and stronger.
Even though 44% of Aussies associated with Christianity in the last census, our faith is far from mainstream.
Yet, Jesus told his followers that this is what we should expect.
Speaking to his closest friends on the night before he died, he said:
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” (John 15:18-19)
Jesus’ words clash with society, now more than ever, which means that those who love his words should expect to be hated by the world.
So, if you want to follow Jesus, then it’s harder than ever to sit on the fence.
If you follow Jesus, you’ll be hated by the world… so make your choice.
But the good news is that after Jesus returned to heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit to be an advocate for his followers, and to help his followers speak powerfully about Jesus.
That’s why our church wants everyone to know about Jesus, even if it’s unpopular.
Because the reason the world wants to silence Jesus is because he’s got something very important to say.
JODIE McNEILL
No matter where you turn, it’s hard to avoid the reality that our world is far from peace.
We hear lots about Ukraine and Gaza, but we know that these are just two hotspots around our planet where fighting is a daily occurrence, and where fear is a part of life.
Even in the relative safety of Australia, we know what violent conflict can be like, and sadly, it often happens in the secrecy of homes.
Yet, there is a peace that cannot be provided by the world, even when wars and conflicts cease.
For, we all need peace with God, and nobody is able to bring about that peace by themselves.
In the absence of that peace, we try to fill our lives will all sorts of solutions, and in the end, they will only fail.
For, Jesus said:
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27)
Jesus knows that the world is not able to give genuine peace of mind and heart, and so he offers the real deal.
He promised to his disciples that he would give them the gift of the Holy Spirit, who would bring them peace that would free them from trouble and fear.
Today, we who know Jesus now have this gift, and this frees us up from trying to find peace in the wrong places.
As we await the return of Jesus, we know we will still experience difficulties—but we will know the true, deep peace of mind and heart.
Wars and conflicts will continue until Jesus returns, but for those who trust in him now, we enjoy a deep peace that gives us true hope for eternity, no matter what happens.
JODIE McNEILL
Each year our Parish Council gives prayerful consideration to our needs and opportunities as it sets the budget for the coming year, setting the target for giving necessary for our expenses.
This year we decided to increase our target by only enough to cover increases in costs from inflation, but in January we realised that we were really struggling to meet this amount.
So, we prayed that God would supply our needs.
We know that the Lord is intimately involved with every aspect of life, so we asked him to provide for our church so we could keep telling each person in the village, valley and region how to follow Jesus and why it matters.
Then, after weeks of prayer, our Parish Council asked each of us to consider an increase in our regular giving, or even the possibility of a special, one-off gift that could pay back our hall renovation loan, and reduce the repayments by $325 a week.
We prayed… and the Lord answered!
Giving has increased by at least $350 a week… and we’ve received a gift of $25,000 to cancel the loan and its repayments!
I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was… because even though I knew that the Lord hears and answers our prayers, I was blown away by the wonderful way he has done this for us.
Yet, the greatest blessing has not been an increase in our giving, it’s been an increase in our faith!
I can personally vouch for how much this trial has lead me to depend more on God, and to delight in asking him boldly for the big things and the little things… so that he will receive the glory.
What a wonderful surprise to see afresh the kindness of God!
JODIE McNEILL
It’s amazing how many gyms have opened up in our region, each trying to attract new customers with discount fees and the latest equipment.
For some people, it’s the lure of ‘me time’ on the cardio machines, running fast on a treadmill to nowhere.
For others, it’s the promise of building strength, knowing that resistance training grows muscle, which overcomes one of our greatest enemies: weakness.
Nobody wants to be weak, because this means you’re subject to the strength of others, unable to independently manage your life.
But what if the way to strength was through weakness?
The Apostle Paul had many spiritual things to boast about, but he chose to boast only about his weaknesses.
He knew that something had happened that stopped him from boasting, and so he pleaded with Jesus three times to remove this painful thing, yet:
Each time [Jesus] said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
What was true for the Apostle Paul is also true for us today: the power of Jesus works best in weakness.
When we go through painful moments of weakness, we can trust that the Lord is working through them for our good and for his glory.
Power in weakness is the opposite to what we’d expect in life, but it’s exactly what happened at the cross of Christ, as the greatest battle was fought when our Lord was at his weakest.
Jesus showed his power in weakness… and so we should expect that of our life, too.
JODIE McNEILL
One of the great things about School Scripture is that it gives the best of both worlds to parents and carers who wish their children to have a public education, along with instruction about the faith of their family.
Now more than ever, there is some discomfort in having ‘God’ in our government schools, but the long-standing arrangement of ‘SRE’ (Special Religious Education) means that we can maintain the ‘firewall’ between church and state, whilst ensuring that students still learn about religion.
In our school at Jamberoo Public, we’ve got a team from our church of six, qualified and accredited teachers, who help the students learn more about the faith that’s been nominated at their enrolment, and using fun-filled, educationally-designed programs, we help kids know more about Christ, whether or not the household is currently active in practicing religion.
Alternatively, students can choose to be taught by the Roman Catholic church, or by a group that provides Special Ethics in Education (‘SEE’), for parents who wish their children to learn a worldview that is separate from a belief in God.
This arrangement means that students can attend a state school, whilst also receiving teaching about religion that is consistent with their household’s heritage and worldview.
Our teachers follow an authorised curriculum which has been developed over decades to utilise current research on how students learn and think, so that they might better-understand biblical principles, and then build upon them to develop values that underpin everyday life.
Our curriculum is publicly available at cepconnect.com.au/curriculum and provides a great overview of what we hope to teach our kindy, infants and primary students… and there’s an accompanying curriculum for High School students called thinkfaith.com.au
Please pray for our teachers as we start again this Thursday—and ask that God would use SRE to help our students know more about how to follow Jesus and why it matters.
JODIE McNEILL
If we want to discover the spirit of a country, then we need simply explore how it reacts to a major event, such as a natural disaster, a financial crisis, or a painful war.
Likewise, we can uncover the spirit of a person by seeing how they endure a crisis, watching how they display their true colours as they instinctively react to difficult and painful events.
For this reason, the night before Jesus’ death gives us a remarkable and candid insight into the spirit of Christ, as we see what was at his heart as he approached his crucifixion.
What he said and did on his final night was a powerful and intimate display of his spirit.
We saw this in how he acted to humbly serve his disciples, and how he then dedicated himself to caring for them and their grief, even as he approached unimaginable suffering of his own.
Yet, the most significant event of that darkest night was when Jesus spoke of how the Father would send the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, upon his disciples:
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.” (John 14:16-17)
Jesus revealed his spirit in more ways than one: he showed what was at his heart, but more than that, he revealed what life would be like when his Holy Spirit was poured out on them bringing comfort, assurance, and an empowerment to boldly proclaim the gospel.
Over the next two months we’re looking at John chapters 13 to 16, and as we witness Jesus’ reaction to his coming death, we’ll also see the blessing of receiving his promised Holy Spirit.
JODIE McNEILL
If you’ve ever visited our church you’ll know that we love to include and integrate enquirers into every aspect of our church.
So, if someone wants to come and check out Jesus, then our everyday church is the perfect place to drop in and see what we’re on about.
This is also true of our home groups, as we love to have people along who might prefer the relaxed nature of meeting with a few others to talk about what Jesus has said and the real difference he makes in our lives.
Some people think that it’s too tricky to run a group that helps mature Christians grow stronger, whilst also being a place that helps visitors learn about the basics of what Christians believe.
But, the thing about the Bible is that as it helps us understand more about who God is and who we are, it ends up being a message that is for everyone, no matter what their place on their journey of faith.
This is what we see in the Apostle Paul’s second letter to his colleague Timothy, where he says:
“But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:14-15)
The same things that enquirers are taught as they come to know Jesus for the first time are the same things that long-term followers of Jesus need to keep hearing and believing.
Which is why it makes so much sense to be integrating new believers into the everyday life of our church… so you’re very welcome, no matter where you are on your journey to know Jesus!
JODIE McNEILL