Pastors Letter (Page 20)

Dear friends We have Commitment Sunday coming up on May 23 – a day which I’m sure will be a very special day in the life of our church. We’ll have a number of people at varying ages being baptised and making affirmations of faith. Baptism is a wonderful gift of God. It is a symbolic act only, but a symbolic act which points to spiritual realities. It points to our union…

Dear friends I have been a Christian for a long time, and over that time I can see how I have grown by God’s grace into a (slightly) more mature follower of Jesus Christ.  One way I have grown is in my understanding of God as my Father, Jesus as my elder brother, and my membership of his church as belonging in his family rather than an (impersonal) membership of a merely…

Dear friends It’s weird to me to think that a year ago we were in the middle of our ‘online church’ period. Not seeing each other in person, trying to do growth groups over zoom, looking forward to watching church on the TV every Sunday. Strange times! Around the world there are lots of places where COVID is still having a devastating impact and lots of Christians are…

Dear friends As seems to always happen, the first quarter of the year has flow by! I hope those of you who are able to have some downtime over school holidays are enjoying it so far. After a term in the book of Luke, we’ve got a special treat at church this Sunday with one of our former members, Tim Blagg, returning to preach a one off sermon for us on Ephesians 3. I’m…

Dear friends In 2002, The Anglican Diocese of New Westminster, Canada, passed a motion to allow its ministers to conduct blessings of same-sex civil unions. In protest, a number of members of the Synod declared themselves out of communion with the bishop and the synod. One of those who separated themselves was the Anglican theologian, J. I. Packer. While this happened…

Dear friends We have a great privilege this weekend to have one our alumni (a fancy word that means Jamie used to be a member of our church) back with us. Jamie Seyfang, now one of the Associate Pastors at Trinity Church Colonel Light Gardens will preaching for us. I emailed him a few questions so we could get to know him a bit better… • For those who don’t know you…

Dear friends Earlier this year we flagged that we were planning to have a COMMITMENT SUNDAY on May 23 this year. What is this? It’s a special time for all who wish to make a public declaration of their commitment to Christ and their membership amongst his people through either Baptism or Affirmation. Who’s it for? Baptism is for all Christians, including…

Dear friends An article in Tuesday’s Australian (“In this world without, we seek a saviour within”, The Australian, 9 March 2021) made this observation: “Although the significance of Jesus has been lost on most people today, a kind of saviour longing seems to endure. The Messiah is forgotten, but his archetype continues to throb at the heart of Western culture.” The…