The meadow needs mowing!

The children couldn't really play out the back of church since the grass (weeds really) has grown pretty long. It would be great if someone could come and mow it.

Monthly Men's Bible Fellowship Group

As well as our weekly Thursday Morning Men's Group we have a Monthly Men's Bible Fellowship Group. This group is meeting this Friday (Nov 2) in the lower meeting room from 8-9pm.

At this next meeting we will be studying Acts 11:19-12:24. This passage deals with: sharing with the needy, experiencing persecution, deliverance and justice. During the evening, David Loane will speak about his recent overseas trip to Ireland and India.

Church Open Day gains momentum

At our Church Open Day on November 11 we now have a BBQ lunch happening, a jumping castle, the launch of a booklet on John Paton V.C., a bookstall, gift stall from Tribes and Nations and I will be speaking on "Who on Earth does Jesus think he is?". It all starts with church at 9:30am. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Daylight saving

Just turned our clocks forward an hour. Have you?

Can you love the beach too much?

In my last post I talked about making space on the weekend for each other and for God. Now I love the beach but I hate 'nippers'. Nippers is a program for kids teaching them basic surf safety and engaging them in challenging activites. It sounds like a great program. The problem is that I meet parent after parent who would call themselves Chrsitians but have given up on regularly meeting in church and got their kids into nippers. That's what I hate.

I can understand the need to think about having church at another time in order to reach people who fill their Sunday mornings (the normal time slot for churches). But Christians parents? What's the story? Are they Christians? I love the beach but not that much.

The Death of the Aussie Weekend

When I grew up (not so long ago) you were lucky to find a servo open on a Sunday to buy milk. Now everything is open on a Sunday! I even noticed that recently banks have been allowed to and started to open on Sundays. BankWest is now open from 10am-4.30pm at Burwood Westfield. Across the whole of Australia, Sunday is becoming like any other trading day (check out the data from the Australia Bureau of Statistics here).

What we have gained is economic activity and choice. What we have lost is community and God.

We have lost community because we no longer have a shared day off. No longer can you invite everyone around for a BBQ knowing that everyone will be able to come, no longer can you have a family lunch on Sunday because the kids are working at Boost Juice.

We have lost community because we no longer share our wealth by giving everyone a break. When God told his people to take a break part of the reason was so that EVERYONE could take a break together:

"You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. " Exodus 20:9-10 (NLT)

Choice is taken away from people working in businesses that open on Sundays because they will be compelled at some level to be on that Sunday roster. Your choice to buy Boost Juice (or whatever) is the loss of their weekend. The Aussie weekend is dead.

In England there was a fight put up to try and stop Sunday trading. It failed. Read about their efforts in Wikipedia, or at the Keep Sunday Special website. At least they tried. Here in Australia we foolishly traded our weekend for a bowl of lentil soup.

The bigger issue is that we have forgotten about God. The economy is our great idol as it delivers us the goods we want, protects us from poverty, determines what is right and wrong and the place where so many sacrifice their very lives (through their devotion to careerism). We have lost sight of God and his goodness and making room in our lives for him. Taking a shared day off as a community to give God space is something of crucial importance.

As Christians we know there is freedom to consider days differently (Romans 14:5-6), and we also know that the Sabbath looks forward to the great rest we have with God (Hebrew 4:6-11). However, the idea of a community day off is a good one. After all the law was not made to hinder us as persons but to help us. As Jesus says:

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27-28.

The Aussie Weekend is now dead and we were too busy to notice it passing away.

Interview with Archbishop Dr Peter Jensen

Last week the Archbishop gave a wide ranging interview with ABC Radio's Monica Attard. They talk about women bishops, homosexuality and Australia politics. Listen to it below or read the transcript here.

Ephesians - called by God to walk his way

We are picking up our preaching series in Ephesians with an overview of the letter. Listen to the talk in the payer below or download the mp3 here.

This term we really focus on the second half of the letter and what it means to be called by God to live his way.

Safe Ministry for Children

Providing a safe environment for our children is a very high concern for our church. On Monday 5th and 26th of November, Janene Lewers from Anglican Youthworks will be visiting our church to conduct the Safe Ministry Training now required for people who engage in ministry to children.

The training session will go from 7.30 to 9pm in the upper meeting room and our church is covering the cost of the training. For more information about the training visit the Youthworks site.

To sign up for the course you will need to put your name on the list at the back of the church or sign up online here.

Church Open Day

On Sunday November 11th we are having a Church Open Day. It is an oportunity to let our community know what is happening at church and for us to share the good news of Jesus.

We are still working out exactly what is going to happen but it should be great!

teaching on the church

Church is very important to God. It is not a club or a social group. The church is the gathering of people around the risen Christ as he rules us through his word. It is important to think biblically about church. Check out this article by Rev Dr Robert Doyle on the church.

words really count

What we say is very important to God. Words aren't just wind from our mouths but an expression from our very being. When we speak we need to speak in such a way as to build up others. As Paul says:

"Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." Ephesians 4:29

Interracial marriage and the bible

Have a read of this article by John Piper on the Bible's view on interracial marriage.

Church Mission Prayer Meeting

Our church prayer meeting does not meet this Sunday or the next, but starts up again at 5pm on Sunday 21st October.

Giving generously to others in need

We often take it for granted our ability to work. Christians are people who engage in productive employment for the good of our community and the good of others. Instead of being a burden on others we are able to support others in need. The apostle Paul says this:

"If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need." Ephesians 4:28