Break in Transmission!

Dear Viewers there may be a break in transmission till Feb 2008

We will be back and blogging when School starts back ! The Parsons

Merry Christmas from the Parsons

Merry Christmas from the Parsons'

Were Road trippin till School starts again

Have a great Christmas thinking about the birth of the Christ

Happy New Year!

See you when School Starts!

"Are we there Yet?"

"No Sue! Go back to sleep!"

Postcard from Broome

Tim and Kathy Mildenhall with their four gorgeous kids are serving in Broome with the Anglican Church there. They have been in touch this week telling us how they are faring. As the summer season has passed and the monsoon season approaches, the town has emptied of holiday-makers and consequently numbers at services have decreased. As well a number of church families have re-located to other areas. Their regular activities continue with continual efforts to reach out into the community. Tim is involved in teaching Scripture in schools and is slowly building up friendships among the staff. All sorts of events are planned to make the church activities accessible to people who do not usually go to Church and there has been some encouragements. However Tim has been hampered by Ross River virus this year and energy has been in short supply. As the temperature and humidity increase we need to pray for them that Tim will be free of the virus and that the Kathy will be able to keep the children creatively involved. The local swimming pool will be the focus because box jellyfish and the deadly irukjani little jellyfish make it dangerous to swim in the ocean.

Pray for them as Christmas approaches and they seek to tell the Christmas story in every context open to them. Pray that the Holy Spirit will open people's hearts to this wonderful message and pray for total well-being for the Mildenhall family.

BT

Born of the Virgin Mary!

Here's a quote worth refuting:

"These nativity stories appear only in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. and their accounts are significantly different from each other. The differences are so marked that they cannot possibly be described as historical in the way we regard history today..."

But Luke in his own defence says:

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Luke 1:1-4

Luke 2 begins: In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David....

It sounds like history to me...that is what Luke thought he was writing.

The theological significance of the virgin birth is a key point of Anglican teaching:

II. Of the Word or Son of God, which was made very Man.

The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took Man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two whole and perfect Natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God, and very Man; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary...

GP

The death of freewill !

I have heard a fair bit of chat lately about the pros and cons on the Bible's teaching on election.

The Thirty-nine articles give us a good summary (excuse the ye olde english...)



XVII. Of Predestination and Election.

Predestination to Life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore, they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called according to God's purpose by his Spirit working in due season: they through Grace obey the calling: they be justified freely: they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the image of his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk religiously in good works, and at length, by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity.
As the godly consideration of Predestination, and our Election in Christ, is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh, and their earthly members, and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly things, as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal Salvation to be enjoyed through Christ as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards God: So, for curious and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually before their eyes the sentence of God's Predestination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the Devil doth thrust them either into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less perilous than desperation.

Furthermore, we must receive God's promises in such wise, as they be generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture: and, in our doings, that Will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared unto us in the Word of God.

What do you think?

GP

The Ministry of Welcoming

“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7, ESV)

God is building His church. It is a family, with Jesus at the head, into which our loving Heavenly Father is inviting people. He is actively at work in the world, calling people to himself, establishing and strengthening them in Christ.

Just as Jesus welcomes sinners and draws us to himself, so we seek to welcome all into the St Matthew's church community. When we turn up at St Matthew's, whether as visitor or regular member, our hope is that everyone experiences not just a warm greeting and kind gesture, but the invitation to continuing and growing relationship.

The welcoming ministry at St Matthew’s is a very important one which helps newcomers feel part of our community and regular members to express the love of Christ for all people. Everyone can share in this work of extending gospel hospitality: you don’t have to be on the welcoming team to look out for and look after our visitors.

The new TenAM Welcoming Team comprises three groups of people:
‘Greeters’ who are the first point of contact when people enter the church;
‘Seaters’ who are responsible for ushering people to suitable seating; and
‘Meeters’ who spend time (mainly after the service) following-up newcomers.

Hospitality is an important part of the ministry of welcoming. Thank you to those people who have offered to host a ‘TenAM Lunch’ next year, one of our regular events for newcomers. And thank you to those of you who already actively seek out and invite newcomers to your home (or a local café or food hall) after the service.

Look out for the new Welcome Desk in the church foyer, coming soon! It will double as a resource/information centre for regulars and a place for visitors to make contact with someone before they leave. In the New Year you will also be able to collect a Welcome Pack, which will include a new St Matthew’s information brochure.

Over the next 12 months we will be offering a number of training sessions on the Ministry of Welcoming. The first one will be tomorrow, Monday 26 November, from 7.45–9.00pm at the church. Although this will be specifically designed for existing members of the welcoming team, everyone is welcome.

Khim

Minute 4 Mission: AFES and Thailand

To-day our missions focus is on one of our mission partners - AFES or Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students. They work on university campuses to spread the good news of Jesus. At UWA the work has for many years been very ably led by Tim and Rosemary Thorburn. Now exams are finishing and the year is winding down.

But for a group of UWA students it is just winding up! In the midst of exams they have been preparing to go to Thailand to work on a University Campus there for four weeks. One of the team of six, is a member of St Matthew's, Amy Robinson, Jacqui and Bruce's daughter. Listen to what they have to say " At our preparation meetings we have been studying Philippians and we have been both challenged and encouraged by the words 'Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others' Please pray that this attitude would be ours."

But what will they do? They can't speak Thai, and they are new to Thai culture. And they will only be there for four weeks. Listen to what Kerri-Ann Choma, the OMF missionary they will be working with has to say "I have an AFES background, having worked with students in Sydney for years before joining OMF and coming to Thailand. I'm getting to the end of my first four year term in Thailand and am so happy to have the help of a bunch of keen Aussies to help in all our Christmas programmes. They can mix around and get to know the small group of Christian students, see how things are done around here, teach some English, and generally seek to build friendships through sport and participating in our Regional Camp which will run over a long week-end while they are here. Thai students are full of questions about Australia and with their limited English they can learn a lot from the six young people who are coming" Please do pray for us.

I would add as a postcript that in Central Thailand there are many universities of 20,000 or 30,000 students which have NO Christian witness AT ALL. The work at Naresuan University where these UWA students are going has only been going for five years. We need to pray for more workers for this harvest field. And now let us pray for this team as they leave on Tuesday and return just before Christmas.

Blodwyn Timms