As we look at what we do next at Carlingford one of the things we could be praying for is good relationships with our neighbours.
Unfortunately what happened last week was that our alarm was going off in the middle of the night and our neighbours, as you’d expect, were quite upset by this.
Please pray that our neighbours would accept our explanations and apologies and that we would continue to be good witnesses to the difference Jesus makes to lives and communities.
This is the difference Jesus makes in the face of evil.
You can read his statement here.
Last night I had the great privilege of celebrating God’s goodness and faithfulness as 110 men and women graduated from Moore Theological College.
It was also a reminder that going to college isn’t a mere academic exercise but is ultimately about the proclamation of the good news of Jesus to all the people of the world.
Please pray in particular for the following people, who have a connection to St Paul’s, that God will enable and empower them to use what they’ve learnt to make disciples of Jesus.
Ken Dean
Emma Davies
Winnie Lau
Becky Lui
Nima Neyshaboury
Hamish Toose
Steph Toose
Matt Turner
Gareth Tyndall
Kevin Chan
Peter Davies
Emma Little
Annabel Nixey
Simon Nixey
Alistair Chiu
Peter Greenwood
Hi all,
Sorry for not having asked for prayer since I’ve come back from leave, but I thought I’d quickly post this link to a story written by Chris Makin from Family Church to inform your prayers given what is happening in Indonesia at the moment.
You might have seen the following headline in the SMH – $2.6m payout after husband drove over car park’s edge.
What you might not realise is that Tom and Michelle were members of St Paul’s when Tom’s accident happened.
Michelle is now going to another church, but she is still supported by some close friends at St Paul’s, but can I encourage us all, whether you know Michelle or not, to pray for Michelle, that the Lord would give her strength as they go back to court in November to argue costs and for healing and recovery from this terrible ordeal.
Share the Benefit was an eye-opening experience. The food challenge in particular changed the way I looked at things.
As Anglicare told us, it wasn’t really about being able to survive on the New Start Allowance, but it was all about how having limited funds changed the way you lived and restricted your choices.
During the week we lived on the New Start Allowance we provided no hospitality. We changed the way we shopped and bought cheaper equivalents. We also realised that while schools are trying to help families, by encouraging them give their children fresh food through the Crunch’N’Sip program, this ended up adding to the financial burden that a family can face.
What we also realised was that a gift of a meal can make a huge difference. Having one dinner and lunch provided during the week saved us a lot of money.
But the challenge now is – what next?What difference will this make to the way we view and serve others?
Passing on the difference to Anglicare is a start, but you could be praying that this experience will help us see those around us with fresh eyes and that we would have hearts that are willing to help those in need, both physically and spiritually.
I’m also hoping to arrange some further opportunities to explore how we can be loving our community in partnership with Anglicare, so keep an eye out for those opportunities when they come.
The staff team went away for a few days last week to think about the future and we asked ourselves the following questions –
What do we think God wants us to do?
What will stop us?
How will we get there?
It was a very interesting discussion and to a certain extent we know the answers already.
God wants us to be Making Disciples and the thing that will stop us from doing this is moving away from the understanding that the way disciples are made is as people share God’s word with other people in the power of prayer.
But having said that, we still have some big questions to ask about –
Our changing community.
Our facilities.
The way we organise ourselves.
Our size.
Our priorities.
Our people.
Please keep on praying for the wisdom of the team as we continue to work on how best to use the resources God has given us to reach our community and honour His son
I read two books while I was on holidays last week. One was ‘The Tournament’ by Matthew Reilly, which like most of his other books was literary fast-food. The other was ‘Hope Beyond Cure’, by Dave McDonald, which is a terrific short book that I found very helpful.
Dave was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer a number of years ago and this book is all about the hope beyond cure that Jesus can offer.
Many of our lives have been touched by cancer (my mother died of cancer, my father had it twice), and what this book does is speak about what it’s like to be a Christian and be diagnosed with cancer and the difference that Jesus makes in thinking about illness and death.
While nothing Dave says is new, it’s striking in its honesty and clarity, and it’s one of those rare Christian books that could be easily given to a person dealing with cancer or a serious illness.
It’s also helpful for those of us who have been Christian for a while and I’d like to leave you with an excerpt that i found really encouraging. Speaking about Psalm 62 he says…
In these verses are two things in particular about God that have strengthened my hope time and time again. First, God is powerful; second, his love is unfailing. If God were powerful but not loving, I could never approach him. If God were loving but weak, I’d have no guarantee that he could help me. Yet because God is both powerful and loving, he offers genuine hope to all who come to him for help.
These words have warmed my heart and restored my confidence in God. When my hope falters I know that God isn’t the problem – I am. If i feel that God is remote and uninterested, it’s only because I have forgotten God. He is calling me to come to him, to find refuge in him, to find rest and hope in him. And God has made this possible through his Son, Jesus Christ.
In the light of recent events let me recommend the following article by Sandy Grant from St Michael’s Cathedral in Wollongong.
You can find it here.
It’s very helpful.
Outside of Colin, it’s hard to find great Christian music for kids.
Masterplan is a great CD.
It’s been produced by Ben Pakula who is both a gifted musician and 4th year Moore College student and it basically covers the story of the bible from Genesis to Revelation and shows how Jesus is the fulfilment of all of God’s promises.
My kids love it and I love it as well.
Hearing biblical theology laid out on a backdrop of 80’s metal riffs warms the heart!
It’s currently 20% off as well at this link
Partners in Prayer 