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

Minute 4 Mission: North Korea

The focus of this M4M is on the land of North Korea. The Korean Peninsula was the scene of a great Christian revival in the early part of the twentieth century and the Church has remained very strong and evangelical. In the South, more Koreans go overseas as missionaries than any other nation on earth. But in the North, which remained Communist after the end of the Korean War in the mid fifties, most dreadul persecution of Christians has been going on for decades.

Let me share one story from a woman who survived a North Korean prison camp. It took place in a North Korean smelting factory.

"I saw eight Christian prisoners carrying a big metal kettle holding molten iron. An officer called to them ....'Tomorrow is a cleaning-the-mind day. You will go out and tell everyone that there is no God. Otherwise you will be killed. Do you understand?' Not one of the prisons responded to the officer. He became furious and began to curse at the men...'All eight of you come here and put your face down to the ground!' They came just as he ordered. They sat on their knees and then bent their heads down. The officer called over other male prisoners...'Bring boiling liquid iron from the furnace and pour it on them!' The frightened prisoners ran to get a kettle of molten iron. They then poured the boiling iron on top of the people of God kneeling so quietly. Suddenly, the smell of burning flesh assailed my nostrils ..I looked at their shrunken bodies and wondered in my heart, What do they believe? What could be more important to them than their lives? In the years I was in prison, I saw many believers die. Yet they never, never denied the God who is in heaven ...Their unbelievable faith brought a big question into my heart. "What am I missing?"

Let us pray for the persecuted church of North Korea.
BT

Postcard from Nigeria: Joan Mackie

With someone from here traveling to Australia at the end of this week, it is good to have the chance to send some letters with a little news from this end. Am grateful for your patience in waiting for replies to both emails and regular mail – bless you for your care.

Nigeria as a nation. Today Nigeria celebrates 47 years of independence and many are thanking God for his hand on this nation. Despite the challenges, our Lord has dealt kindly with this country in limiting power struggles as well as thwarting those who would seek their own way at any cost. God has been good and shown His mercy. Here in Kaduna, the community remains thankful for peace, though this is not the case in some locations elsewhere in the country. Sabotage and kidnappings continue against oil interests in the southern Niger River delta region, as well as political power struggles and a measure of instability persisting in the wake of elections earlier this year in other selected regions (e.g. Ekiti State, towards the south-west of Nigeria).

New academic year. The school’s new academic year has now been underway for two weeks, and matters are looking encouraging. We started as usual with a round of staff meetings before the students resumed in mid-September, the meetings including a staff seminar, this time on ‘problem ownership’. Several staff saw this tool as potentially helpful for classroom management situations as well as for their own lives in the community. Enrolment figures are looking healthy, with just a little less than last year and more enrolments still anticipated, especially into the most junior class (where the students are around 11 years of age). Interviews for staff have been held and three new teachers have commenced duties, maintaining previous staffing levels. The College is looking forward to these new staff significantly contributing to the lives of the students very soon.

Student activities. Plans are underway for some nine excursions and two seminars, scheduled to hold for the students over two days later in October. These are an excellent way for the students to see in practice what they have learnt about in theory in the classroom, and include the Fine Arts department at a university in Zaria (1½ hours north of Kaduna – for Visual Arts), the National House of Assembly parliament building in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital (2 hours south of Kaduna – for Government), granitic exfoliation on the Jaji rock formations near Zaria (for Geography), and an agricultural farm/ research station, also near Zaria (for Agricultural Science).

Encouraging results. Final touches are also being put in place for an Awards Afternoon at the end of this coming week, where student excellence achieved in the last academic session will be recognised. Results from one lot of external exams also reached the school last week – those from the oldest junior class, where students are around 15 years old – and these are encouraging. Results from the tertiary entrance exams for the most senior class are yet to be released to the school, but individual students have been downloading their own off the web, and so far, these too have been looking good. Our God is faithful.

Beyond Kaduna. It was a delight to get away over the long summer vacation, for a few weeks in Benin and Togo. This provided further valuable insights into where people in the region are ‘coming from’, especially with regard to the inherited effects of slavery and tribal rivalry, as seen today. Also recently, it has been a pleasure to meet two new CMS Australia missionaries – Alan and Helen Wood will be lecturing at a theological college near Zaria.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and give discernment to us all as we seek to serve Him.

Joan Mackie CMS Nigeria

The Golden Compass: Atheism for Kids

Atheism's version of Narnia for young people is about to leap from book to screen in the coming movie The Golden Compass.

The His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman that has received commendations from The Guardian newspaper, as well as becoming the winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Children’s Book of the Year from the British Book Awards.

It describes an alternative universe to our own that is in many parts the same, and yet disturbingly different. There is an Oxford University that is the centre of scholarship, but its lecturers have more in common with crusty courtiers and 19th century explorers. Witches inhabit the icy reaches of the far north but far from being horrible hags, they are the guardians of nature in the form of ageless, beautiful women. And religion is represented by the almighty Church, an organisation that somehow avoided the Reformation but still jettisoned the Pope, leaving the Magisterium in control, a religious council that oversees every political and scientific development.

Out of this world emerges the key character of Lyra Belacqua, a young girl born to great but indifferent parents who are themselves engaged in a battle for the control of not only their own world, but its myriad variations that are somehow connected. Lyra leads a collection of unlikely allies who represent the natural elements as well as the pure sciences – a witch queen, an armoured talking bear and a race of Gypsy wanderers – to stand against the adult forces that would decimate everything good in their quest for control. However her chief ally is the mysterious and unnamed wisdom that moves the golden compass she possesses, a device that can only tell the truth.

One Christian reviewer said this "I would be the first to admit that the church, that human organisation that represents Christ’s family, has in its humanity been guilty of some poor thinking and some worse actions. But Pullman’s attack is directed at the Church in all of its manifestations, including its claim to understand the nature of our existence and the root causes of the problems we face. What Northern Lights represents is a Dawkins-style attack written for a child’s eyes, but with no less vitriol. It’s not surprising that the Church he presents has no Bible to speak of, and no Lord to lead it. Pullman’s accusations would only be easily deflected by a flesh and blood Jesus. The only thing he can hope to do is pretend that in this world at least, the greatest example of love and concern for all children never existed at all."

Even such a brief description should highlight the romantic characters and elements that have made Pullman’s series a best-seller for the past twelve years. It might also go some way to explaining New Line Cinema’s decision to release Northern Lights as a film titled The Golden Compass. The feature stars luminaries like Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Eric Bana, and is timed for a Christmas release this year. Prudence would suggest, however, that some attention be paid to the book which has spawned this popular attraction, and is likely to gain increased attention as a result.

The movie will have all the granduer of Narnia, and Lord of the Rings

before your children ask to see the movie are you ready to watch it with them? Interacting with atheism is not all bad, It helps you articulate a Christian worldview but are you ready for the conversation with your kids?

Here are christian reviews of the books:

http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/culture/reading/the_subtle_knife/

http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/culture/reading/northern_lights/

http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/culture/reading/334a/

Let me know what you think!

Gavin

Postcard from Mexico

Dear friends,
It's been a long beginning to the semester but the cafe has held together and continued to grow. We decided to stick to selling only takeaway this semester with the plan to consolidate before growing any further. We continue with our goal to serve the student community, while at the same time giving a visible testimony of lives lived for God's glory. There are 20 of us working in the cafe now, which makes for a strong group; pray for us though, as things often get quite hectic, especially in the early mornings - and also when the weather is very cold, as we found out today. Each Daywe collect the empty milk containers from today's cappuccinos (nearly 200 litres!).
Thank you for your prayers!
Love
Robert, Shelley, Tom and Luis.

M4M: Postcards from Paris

Dear Friends

Thank you for your prayers, especially over the last few weeks of leaving Australia and arriving back in France. All went smoothly, and I was very aware that people were upholding me in prayer.

Thank God for:
a lovely time with family just before leaving Australia. We had a combined birthday/Christmas in July (but in September)/nephew's christening, with all the family there in Inverell.
a safe arrival back in France, and a warm welcome.
being able to come back to my old flat.
a students leaders' weekend last weekend - well-appreciated and helpful. God has given us some very good student leaders to work with this year.
encouraging initial meetings with Anne-Sophie, the ministry trainee I'll be working with this year. She's very keen!
Please pray with me:
for a smooth transition back into work. (I'm still unpacking all the stuff I had in storage etc., so haven't yet got back to work full-time.)
for wisdom about which Bible study group to be regularly a part of.
for our GBU launch weekend (7-9 novembre), that it would be well-attended and encourage students in wanting to know God better through His word this year.
for an enquirers' group we're starting up next week, that non-Christians would come and discover the great truth of the gospel.
Your partner in the ministry in Paris,

Libby Leach

Distributed by:
Church Missionary Society – New South Wales
Level 5, 51 Druitt Street Sydney 2000
ph: 9267 3711
fax: 9267 3703
email: prayerpoints@cms.org.au
web: http://www.cms.org.au/

Minute 4 Mission: Dongara

If you were a part of the worshipping community here at St. Matts at this time last year, you would have been caught up in us preparing to farewell Matt and Corinne Malcolm and their two children who were leaving the ministry team here to go to Dongara/Mingenew to serve in the North-West Diocese.

They have now been living in Dongara all of this year and are enjoying the life of the local community. When I spoke to him yesterday he was busy deveining prawns in readiness for lunch. But, as Matt says, while they enjoy living there and love the people in the town, Gospel work is really hard work. They find few who are interested in the Gospel and it is hard to attract new people into the Church community. He asks prayer for several specific matters. He is meeting with a young man, Mark, who comes often to enquire about faith issues and is currently reading "A Fresh Start". Let us pray for him. Then too, they are running two special Christmas events to reach out to others. One is a Gingerbread House Event for the ladies, similar to the ones we have held here, and the other is a "Beer, prawns and eternity" night for the blokes. Let us pray that God's Spirit will draw people to want to know more about Jesus.

Pray for Matt and Corinne with their very good friends Penny and Tyler Swartzentruber that they will keep growing in their love for Jesus and His Word and will keep fresh as they seek to share His love with others.

Blodwyn

It is time for the World's most useful Catalogue !

It’s here! TEAR Australia’s Arguably, the World’s Most Useful Gift Catalogue is online now at http://www.usefulgifts.org/

With more ethical, unusual and useful gifts than ever before - plus new Green Gifts. Green Gifts are gifts that benefit our planet and help fight poverty. They feature the Green Gift symbol on their gift card or e-card. A number of gifts in this year’s catalogue are identified with the Green Gift symbol, including Tree Seedlings, Fuel-Efficient Stove, Organic Vegetable Garden and Disaster Relief & Preparedness.

How it works:
Every gift is part of a larger community development program run by one of TEAR’s Christian partners overseas. All projects are designed to help poor and marginalised people solve their own problems.

What you receive:
For every item you purchase, TEAR Australia will send you either a traditional printed card or an e-card as a token of your gift. All gifts are tax-deductible. You can start browsing online now at http://www.usefulgifts.org/ or you can order by phone on (toll free) 1800 244 986.

Carol Elias will be setting us up at 10am for the Tear fund Catalogue.

Kids Church are wanting to rasie enough money to set up Bee-keeping for a couple of villages

Think about how you might use this gift at Christmas!

Stay tuned

Gavin

An update from the Seccombes

Reading David and Lorraine Seccombe's letter was much like going on a lightning world trip. Maybe Kanishka and his family may have felt a little like that after their month-long whizz around. I was left feeling exhausted after reading his 4-page epistle. But I was also left feeling how important it is that we as a Church continue to pray for David and support the work of George Whitefield College in Capetown, South Africa. He is clearly a visionary with a truly global perspective.

His letter highlighted the special way God is at work among the Chinese people and also the fact that the Korean churches are sending huge numbers of missionaries to every corner of the globe. He speaks of the resistance to the Gospel among Thai Buddhists but the hope expressed by Thai Christian pastors that there would be a Christian congregation in every village by 2010. I happen to know how far that is from being realised in this year of 2007.

He speaks of the sea change in missions when missionaries are not just going from the West to the East, but increasingly from the East to the West where the church has so often lost its first love. He also speaks of the thrill of meeting in Frankfurt, Germany the principals of 105 evangelical theological college in the emerging world, coming as they did from Eastern Europe, the Indian Sub-continent, South America and Asia.

When the focus of his letter settled on GWC he has asked us to pray for the development of the College. Despite carefully prepared submissions to the Minister of Eduation they only were granted 'provisional' registration as a Private Higher Education Institution. So we need to pray specifically that full registration will be granted when further submissions are made.

Then there is the pressing need for more Africans on the faculty. This is David's great longing and matches the increasing demands in South African society. But the right people have to be found and that is not easy. Let us join with him in prayer for that. David praises the Lord for gifts that have made it possible to deal with some, but not all, of the Colleges debts. The Education Department of South Africa is very interested to see that the College is financially stable.

GWC is a vital and strategic insitution to help the Church in Africa towards maturity. Let us pray for it and the Seccombe family . Three of David and Lorraine's children are now wanting to base in Perth and David and Lorraine will be here for some months next year when they take leave from the College . So we hope to see a lot more of them if their plans develop as they hope.

Let us pray for them and the College at which they are making such a key contribution.

Blodwyn

Pray for workers in the harvest

Matthew's Gospel records:

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:36-38

Our missions focus this post is on the urgent need for more missionaries to take the Gospel to neglected frontiers. We are all so aware of the need all around us in Australia, that it it is harder to be aware of the large groups of people who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ even once.

Recently the International Director of OMF has put out an appeal for 900 new workers for East Asia by the year 2011. He asks us to consider the 10 million Hui people in China where there is no church at all. And what about the 23 million people in North Korea still closed to the Gospel but open for professional Australian Christians to work there. He points out that in modern Japan there are 628 towns and villagesw without a church, including 64 towns or cities with a population of more than 20,000. There are 15 million working class people in Taiwan who are the backbone of their highly industrialised society but are unreached with the Gospel.

Then there are the one million ethnic Khmers in NE Thailand and the 1.9 million Rakhine people in Myanmar. And I have not completed the list because I fear you will be overwhelmed by the figures. But it seems so wrong that there are so many of us who know and enjoy our relationship with our Saviour Jesus Christ and yet there are so many in other parts of the world who have never been able to make that choice - because they have never heard.

Let us pray, as the Lord indeed instructed us to pray, that more workers would step up to the plate and go and tell the Gospel to the people in the neglected frontiers. OMF is praying for 900, other mission agencies are praying likewise for more workers. Let us join with them in this prayer and Go!

Blodwyn

Godly voting

Sandy's 5 tips (not in order) to help Christian vote Christianly

1. The importance of character
The privacy of politicians should be respected. But the Bible says a leader’s character and beliefs, including religious beliefs, will effect how he or she acts. If a political leader breaks a promise to his wife, why would we expect him to keep a promise to the electorate? Ditto for drunkenness or the physically and verbally aggressive. And where will a defiant atheist get his or her values from? The public-private split cannot be total.

2. The importance of an attitude of glad tax-paying
See Romans 13; Luke 20:20-26 etc. Christians shouldn't just vote for whomever will reduce taxes most or otherwise give them the biggest electoral bribe. If we want good services (health, education, police, roads etc.) we should be willing to pay. Self-interest, though everywhere present, is a bad way to determine what is right and good and helpful for a nation.

3. The importance of the dignity of all human life

The Bible notes the crucial importance for a nation’s leaders to act with justice and compassion and especially to defend the defenceless (widows, orphans, the unborn, elderly, disabled, refugees, detainees, etc.)! This has implications for abortion and euthanasia debates, but also for foreign aid and immigration policies. I suspect that we must even defend the rights of those with whom we disagree or feel threatened by (e.g. terrorist suspects), if those same rights are to mean anything for ourselves in the long run.

4. The importance of Christian (& other religious) liberties

1 Timothy 2:1-6 urges our prayers for leaders, but also indicates the advantage of a society which is ordered so as to enable Christians to lead quiet and peaceful lives in all godliness, rather than in a climate of hostility or persecution. This part of the Bible seems to imply that there are consequent advantages in an orderly society for the spread of God’s life-giving gospel, which Christians believe will benefit society.

5. The importance of family friendly policies

This operates both at a morality level (e.g. Christians will not wish to see gay marriage or adoption; and prefer policies that make reconciliation in troubled marriages more likely than divorce). But it also operates at an economic level, e.g. by making it easier for mothers (or fathers) to stay home rather than having to work for a second income; also easier for single parents.

This is an extract from Sandy Grant's full Article "Why we must vote christianly..."

http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/indepth/articles/why_we_must_vote_christianly_and_not_just_for_the_cdp/

39 Articles on the Value of God's Word

Article VI, Of the sufficiency of the Holy Scripture for Salvation, immediately establishes Holy Scripture as the final authority in matters of salvation. The article sets forth:

Holy Scripture contained all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation… .

Earlier Cranmer wrote in the preface to the Great Bible of 1540, the Holy Scriptures were “the fat pastures of the soul,” and the “most holy relic that remain upon the earth.” The 1553 Ordinal, as a particular ceremony of the church, further captures this aspect of the doctrine of Scripture articulated by The Articles:

The Bishoppe: Be you perswaded that the holy Scriptures contein sufficiently al doctrine required of necessitie for eternal salvacion, throughe faith in Jesu Christe? And are you determined with the saied scriptures, to enstructe the people committed to your charge, and to teache nothyng, as required of necessitie, to eternal salvacion, but that you shalbe perswaded may be concluded, and proved by the scripture?

Aunswere: I am so perswaded, and have so determyned by Gods grace.

How does this change the way we read the Holy Scriptures?

Gavin

Your King Comes: Zechariah 9-14

11/11 Study 1 Your King Comes
Zechariah 9:1-17


18/11 Study 2 The cornerstone, the peg, & the bow
Zech 10:1-11:3

25/11 Study 3 The Good Shepherd
Zechariah 11: 4-17

2/12 Study 4 Gaze upon the pierced One
Zech 12:1-14

9/12 Study 5 Strike the Shepherd
Zechariah 13:1-9

16/12 Study 6 Our God Reigns
Zechariah 14:1-21

Stay Tuned For this Talk Series, It will also be accompanied by a brief study Book to help you think things through. We will be looking at how the Prophecies of Zechariah Speak of Jesus and apply to us !

Gavin

The Parsons have gone fishing......

The Parsons have gone fishing....

See you when we get back !

Miniute 4 Mission: Palestinian territories

Imagine that your parish is in the centre of a city of 200,000 people, 199,000 of them Muslim. Imagine that your parish is in a city that has been surrounded by military checkpoints for the last six or seven years and that to enter or leave your city involved waits of hours or days..or month...or years. Imagine that the streets you walk each day are the haunt of angry young men with access to guns. Imagine that many nights, you wake to the sound of tanks and jeeps rumbling past your house - or even worse the souns of gunfire. Imagine that you live in Nablus and are part of the remant Christian Arab population. You as an Anglican are a minority within a minority within a minority.

What would you do?

If you are the Anglican Church in Nablus, you seek to build God's Kingdom by every means open to you. You say to the population through actions and words that you are here to stay. You keep your hospital open to serve the poor. You open a new church building to proclaim that God is faithful and that this is your home. The Rev. Hosam Naoum has led the church in Nablus right rhough the terrors of the second Intifada and declares that the Gospel is the hope of the nations. He sees a new church building as a sign of the indestructibility of the Church. It means that the new life in Christ is continuing: and it means new hope for the Christian Arabs who see themselves as living sones of the Holy Land.

Great courage and faith is being displayed by our Christian Arab friends in the Palestine territories. In the face of such extreme conditions day after day, we need to look away from our own local lives and embrace in prayer those who are tested daily and retain their strong trust in God.

Pray for them

Blodwyn

On Church Councils

I have been reflecting on the Thirty-nine articles with respect to an Anglican doctrine of Scripture....

Article XXI Of the Authority of General Councils


....And when they be gathered together, (forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and Word of God,) they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they be taken out of holy Scripture.

According to Art XXI Church councils come under the Word of God
and do not sit over the Word of God.

O' Donovan writes "The books of Scripture are not authoritative because the church views them in a certain way; the church views them in a certain way because they are authoritative."
Pray for our Synod that it humbly sits under Scripture and does not lord it over Scripture, especially in its efforts to advance a strategic plan.
Pray for humility for our Synod


GP

Minute 4 Mission: pray for the TCK's

In Minute for Mission today we are focussing on TCK's. You may well ask: what is a TCK? A TCK is a Third Culture Kid - a child who spends their developmental years in a culture different from their parents' own culture. The child may live in Thailand with their Australian parents and this mix produces a third culture which is an amalgam of both. Missionary families are all in this situation. And such children have very unique lives and very real needs.

They have distinct characteristics. Because they are living in another culture, they have good cross-cultural skills and become sensitive to the different ways that people do things. They tend to have a broad world view because they see themselves as belonging to the whole world. They are used to travelling as their parents go on home assignment in different countries. But that very mobility often produces a rootlessness in teenage years as they struggle to feel that they belong anywhere. But they tend to be flexible and adaptable because they live with change all the time. They are usually bilingual or multi-lingual and develop very strong friendships with their TCK mates. Parents struggle with the unresolved gried of parting with their children for shorter or longer periods of time and this sometimes impacts on the children. But in all of this they are high achievers.

OMF is just one of the missionary groups which take very seriously the welfare of children. They see the need for families to model Christian family values in the target culture, but also the need to prepare these precious children for their adult lives back in their parents' culture. OMF seeks to work with the parents to find the best possible option for schooling.

Sometimes the children attend the local school and are educated in the local language. But sometimes the parents opt to send children to Christian boarding schools where they are cared for by those who see this as their missionary calling. Other children go to International Schools as day students. Some families opt for home schooling and the NSW Dept of Distance Education provides all the teaching materials that are needed. Then occasionally all the children get together for a Home Schooling Week where they meet other children from other missionary families. Where children go away to Boarding Schools, as for example in Chiang Mai, a full programme of social and recreational activities are all part of the mix.

If missionaries are at peace about their children, they will be more effective in the work they are doing. Usually the kids have a ball, but there are times of tears and loss. We need to pray for families and TCK's as they make their own sacrifices to make the Gospel known in places where Jesus is not known. Pray for 300 missionaries working all over China with OMF who will be travelling with their 150 children in the next week to attend a Conference of all China workers in Chiang Mai Thailand in the first week of October. The kids are on the move again!

Pray for TCK's

Blodwyn

Godly Dead Guys: Cranmer on Change

Cranmer on Change:

"And whereas in this our time, the minds of men are so diverse, that some think it a great matter of conscience to depart from a piece of the least of their ceremonies, they be so addicted to their old customs; and again on the other side, some be so new-fangled, that they would innovate all things, and so despise the old, that nothing can like them, but that isnew: it was thought expedient, not so much to have respect how to please and satisfy either of these parties, as how to please God, and profit them both." Cranmer 1553

What do you think we need to change at 10am to please God?

GP

Sydney Anglican church on Climate Change

Sydney Synod has also given its approval to a statement by Darren Mitchell and Dr Karin Sowada on climate change, accepting “the emerging scientific consensus that climate change is occurring”. Synod has agreed that Christians need to respond to the potential problems of climate change by being godly stewards in their personal and communal lives, giving children a biblical understanding of creation and stewardship and encouraging all levels of government to “take climate change seriously and make wise policy decisions to deal with its effects”.

The statement has also put forward the need for environmental policies within each parish and Diocesan organisation with “principles of good environmental stewardship and care”.

However the statement has also called on Christians to take advantage of the opportunities climate change presents in praying for the world, explaining the lordship of Jesus Christ and ministering to “those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as farmers, rural communities, the homeless and refugees”.

What do you think our response should be?

http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/synod_split_on_funding/

GP

Go Wallabies !

Minute 4 Mission: Chapmans at "Playa Coyote"

Recently a letter came from Shelley and Rob Chapman, telling us about the development of their outreach café:
Greetings from Mexico! The main focus this year has been on getting our café “Playa Coyote” firmly established. We open for 16 hours a day, which has been draining, but seemed the right thing to do...it’s an exciting place to be, as each day brings new events, opportunities and challenges…
By the end of the semester there were about 15 of us working serving between 1000 and 2000 people throughout the day…
So we feel that our vision to create a bridge between the Christian community and the university is becoming a reality; …its not uncommon for people to ask what it is that makes us different, and its not hard to explain the hope that we have in Jesus when the students have asked us.
We have seen a very positive impact of the café on the student staff. As all of them are Christians, they have the opportunity to meet and talk things over with other Christian students. They have a regular source of income, which gives them the freedom to contribute to their families, their churches and the Compa (Their University Christian Union). We are taking more of a back seat at Compa and the students often organise activities before, while, or after they work at the café.
We have been encouraged to see students mature through their Bible study groups on campus. The students organised an event in April for fellowship and teaching on such subjects as apologetics and life after university – it was completely student led, with much organisation and preparation – more students attended than ever before.

Shelley has other irons in the fire, giving two writing classes at the university and she ran a writing workshop for a week. These gave her opportunity to share her faith.
They give an update on their twins: Luis and Tom have now completed grade 2 and both did very well, with Tom dux of the class. They both have blue belts in Tae Kwon Do; and are on to their third series of X-plore the Bible. During Easter they went on their first church camp for kids.
They conclude: It hasn’t been an easy semester. We know your prayers for our health, provision and work have helped us to continue, and we continue to give thanks for you. Keep fighting the good fight.

Shelley and Rob

Bring Back Bill!

Rugby World Cup is here ! Yahoo!

Come and join me at my place for the first Wallaby game against Japan

Saturday 8th Sept, 9:30pm Perth time at my house. Big Screen

RSVP 9388 1914

More Games coming ......

Introducing God

As a follow on to our Good News Week, we are running the "Introducing God" Course 7:45pm @ Church, starting 12th September. The Course is a dvd based introduction to the central teaching of Christianity. It is for those with questions about God, faith, life, and eternity. It is a good forum to explore some of life's bigger questions from a christian perspective.

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A normal night looks like this:

.....a. 7:45pm Gather for coffee and chat

.....b. 8:00pm Watch dvd input

..........(Featuring Dominic Steele)

.....c. 8:25pm Open round table discussion on input

.....d. 9:00pm session ends

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1. 12 Sept: Introductory Session, Acts 17.

2. 19th Sept: God us and the meaning of life, Genesis 1&2.

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3. 26th Sept: Our declaration of Autonomy, Genesis 3.
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3rd October: School Holidays Break
10th October: School Holidays Break
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4. 17th October: What is God doing ? Psalm 2.

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5. 24th October: God’s competent King, Luke 8.

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6. 31st October: The death that changes everything, Luke 23.
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7. 7th November: God made Jesus Lord and Christ, Acts 2.

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8. 14th November: How then shall we live? 2 Peter 3.

If you, or someone you know is interested

Please Call Gavin Parsons or Tim Karajas 9381 2640

A Life with Purpose: Perth Men's Convention 2007 Saturday 8 September 2007, 8.30am to 4.30pm

Few things are more frustrating than pointless work and toil. Why do we suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, what is the purpose to our lives? Is there any meaning? Millions of people go through life without ever knowing the purpose; living a meaningless existence. We go to work, we strive to generate wealth, build our material possessions, gain popularity, but rarely question why?

God’s word shows us the meaning to our otherwise seemingly meaningless existence; the 2007 Perth Men’s Convention, will examine the purpose of life as described in the book of Ecclesiastes. The book of Ecclesiastes is profoundly relevant to all who seriously want to know why we live, work, rest, and do everything "under the sun". Join us for a challenging day of exploring a Life with Purpose.

Speaker: Al Stewart Al Stewart is a mission minded man who has been involved in telling people about God’s wisdom in Jesus for over 20 years. He has been the CEO of "Youthworks" in Sydney; an organisation devoted to helping young people come to know God's purpose for them in Christ and to live for him. Al is married with four adult and teenage children. He has a passion for bringing the gospel to men and seeing Christian men build up in their faith. Ecclesiastes is a book that Al loves dearly and is looking forward to teaching and applying it to the men of Perth in September. If you would like to hear some of Al's teaching, check out five of his recent Bible studies available for download from the Perth Men's Convention website

http://ccowa.org/lll/l1.nsf/p?open&l1=Event_pmc2007

Speaker:
Al Stewart
When:
Saturday 8 September 2007, 8.30am to 4.30pm
Where:
Swan Christian College 381 Great Northern Highway Middle Swan
Cost:
$40.00 / $35.00 / $10.00

Godly Dead Guys: More than the Abolition of Slavery

In William Wilberforce's diary, his account of April 21, 1803, states:
" A few of us met together at Mr Hardcastle's counting house, at a later hour than suited city habits out of regard for my convenience, and yet on so dark a morning that we discussed by candle-light, while we resolved upon the establishment of the Bible Society."

Originally sought out for counsel and advice as an influential Christian leader, Wilberforce joined those whose aim it was to form an organisation dedicated to printing and distributing the Bible -- in foreign languages as well as English -- to readers who would otherwise go without. Along with other Christian anti-slavery advocates and social reformers such as Granville Sharp and Zachary Macaulay, Wilberforce believed in making the Bible available across society including to the poor.

In a letter written on May 1, 1804, he said "The Scriptures, prayer, with humble reliance on our Redeemer and on the aids of His promised Spirit -- these are the sure means of progress."

The next day, he spoke at the first General Meeting of the Bible Society. He is listed as one of the first Committee members appointed that day and in July of the following year (1805) he was appointed a Vice-President of the Bible Society.

The Bible Society became the largest of the 8 great societies inspired and organised by evangelical Christians associated with the Clapham era and reform movements.

See the Movie "Amazing Grace" portraying William Wilberforces involvement in the Abolition of Slavery from the British Empire

The Good News of Good News week

A search of the idea of “Good news” in the bible quickly uncovers a rich treasure hoard of God’s promises. The Old Testament reminds us that God promised to Abraham to bring blessing to all the nations through his descendants, the promise is good news for the nations who turn to God. As the history of Israel unfolds the promise is sharpened to teach us that the Good news will be seen in the coming of God’s king who will establish the kingdom of God forever. The prophets anticipated the good news is a promise for the future.

This Old Testament backdrop helps us to understand with richness the angel’s good news to the shepherds at the birth of Jesus. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. .” The content of the Good news is a person.

As Jesus carries out his public ministry he assures John the Baptist that he is the Servant of God and replies “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” The priority of Jesus ministry is to proclaim the good news this is accompanied by wonders which bear witness to his claim.

The early church is described, day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. This good news is for all the nations. The Ethiopian official asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Peter declared to gentiles “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

God chose Paul to bring the good news about Jesus to the nations, and so Paul declares to the Galatians “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. Or Paul brings the good news to the thinkers of Athens, some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

So the Good news about Jesus spread from place top place, and generation to generation. Paul puts the challenge to us in this generation in this city.

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

In Good News Week: Real Life we have a season of taking the opportunities to share the Good news about Jesus with our friends and family and neighbours in our community and networks through hospitality events. It is not the only time we do this but it is a concentrated time.

See you there

GP

Minute 4 Mission

Pete is one of our Mission Partners. Eight months ago Pete went to the Middle East. He senses God's call to spend his life in the Middle East seeking to build bridges with Muslim people. He is presently learning Arabic, is living alone and is finding his life very restricted. He has had three bouts in hospital for digestive problems and can't shake off a persistent cough. He has struggled to get his computer up and running so his communications with us have been erratic.

He has just returned from a month in Thailand and loved having some annual leave. A long conversation by phone with him recently showed that he was nevertheless in good heart although he confesses to feeling very lonely. He is very diligent in his Arabic studies but asks us to pray that he will find one or two other people to study with him in a group: the cost of one-on-one language teaching is just too much for his budget. He also asks us to pray that he will find a flatmate, preferably an Arab, so that he can maximise his opportunities of getting to know the culture. Pete is isolated. He said he had a very good Norwegian friend but he left last week. He said that a lot of people come and go and it is hard to form good friendships.

With the Muslim world in such ferment, it is so very timely that Pete is there he warrants our daily prayers. pray for him now!

Gwenyth & Blodwyn

Real Life: GNW

A Refugee Update

When the boat people came to Australia from the year 2000 some of them were just teenagers who had escaped great trauma and were without any family support. Our St Matthew's Refugee Support Group has been involved in caring for many of these and I would like to tell you good news stories of some of these resilient young people who have battled to make good.

There is Nasreen an Afghan teenage girl who came with little schooling. Her family was welcomed by us to Barnacle House. After 6 years she is now doing TEE at Mercedes and is vice-chairman of her debating team. She's got a part time job as a check-out chick and her family are now all citizens, and buying their own home

One of our young people we cared for at Lakeside and who had had to flee from Iran as a university student, is now doing his Masters in Graphic Art and Design.

One of our first Lakeside boys was only 16. He has now set up home in Clarkson, having brought out his orphan cousin and sister and his wife betrothed from the age of 11, and he provides for them working as a tiler.

A specially heartening story concerns a Columbian couple Gustavo and Claudia who received their citizenship last month. They were on bridging visas for six years while their case went right up to the full bench of the Federal Court. After yet another year, they received their permanent visa. They both had been petroleum engineers and they are now both working back in their own field. Their little daughter Valentina is at school and facing a bright future.

Another young man, Arif, was also at Lakeside in our first group. He finally decided to leave Islam and became a Catholic Christian. He was able to bring his family out to join him. They are doing well at school and his wife is in her second year of nursing.

We have heard some good stories. There are also the sad ones of singles and families still on bridging visas with no work rights, no medicare, and who have to be totally supported financially and emotionally by CARAD. This costs CARAD about $10,000 per month and until their cases are finalised they cannot move forward in their lives. These families and singles are highly stressed and need a lot of patient care and love. Michelle Fleay in our congregation is now treasurer of CARAD. You can ask her how she worries over our finances stretching to help these vulnerable people.

Pray for all those who work tirelessly in CARAD to care for such as these..

Gwenyth Graham

Truth, Real Life, and Good News Week

As we reflect on sharing the good news with people in our networks the Bible urges us to see that truth and life go together. How we live amongst our friends gives us permission to share our lives, tell our stories, and speak of our Saviour. The New Testament is full of practical exhortations and observations to encourage us in this.
Jesus uses the imagery of salt and light to describe the function the people of God have in their local community, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” God’s people by their lives ought to glorify their Father in heaven.
Paul picks up the light imagery as he urges the Philippians, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.” Truth and life come together in God’s people. He also applies the salt imagery as he exhorts the Colossians, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Again truth and life come together in that our lives bear witness to the words we long to speak.
Peter encourages Christians in difficult places, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” The godly life and a willingness to share the truth go hand in hand.
Even slaves are encouraged to be salt and light in their service to their masters. So Paul urges Titus, “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive.” From this specific example we see the godly life makes the teaching of our saviour attractive. How do you think this principle works for employees?
As Good News Week: Real Life in August gives us a focussed opportunity to hold out the word of life to our friends. We need take opportunities in the next few weeks to share our lives with our friends, so our godly lives, seasoned with salt, shining like stars give us an opportunity to hold out the Word of life to our friends.
Go to it !

GP

Keep Your Cool: A Parent's guide to handling anger

Ray Galea writes, "Most people battle with anger in one form or another. It may be passive aggression which is code for sulking or verbal and physical outbursts. Having children places a parent under great duress and so many find themselves dumping their anger on the innocent victims which are our children. This talk will begin the process of helping us honestly look at our selves and explore what it is that makes us angry and what we can do about it."

On Thursday 30th August as part of Real Life: GNW '07

7:45pm-9:30pm

Ray Galea will be speaking on the topic:

"Keep your Cool!: A parent's guide to handling Anger!"

RSVP Church Office 9381 2640

Good News Week & The Holy Spirit

In the Old Testament the Spirit is described as the “Breath of God” bringing the Words of God to powerful effect in the world. So God declares through Isaiah “my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” Isaiah 55. The Prophets pointed to the new age of the Spirit which the Messiah would bring in.
Jesus taught his disciples “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned...That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
Jesus teaches his disciples that his death and departure are necessary for the new age of the Spirit to come, and when the Spirit comes he will lead them to understanding the Truth about Jesus, and cause them to write it down as an eyewitness account, declaring the content of the good news. So Peter later teaches “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty....Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
People hear the good news about Jesus and are cut to the heart like at Pentecost. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Peter observes concerning this salvation which the prophets looked for, that it has now been told to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven through those who have preached the gospel to you, even angels long to look into these things. So the preaching of the good news and the work of the Holy Spirit go hand in hand.
Good News Week is an opportunity for the Spirit of God to work among us through the proclaiming of the good news. God makes our good news week events effective by his Spirit, we recognise that it is the Spirit’s work to apply the good news about Jesus to the hearts and minds of our family and friends. Paul rightly says “I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit’s quiet work to turn our eyes and hearts to Jesus.

Pray that God will continue to work among us in this way. GP