Beginning in Term 3 we will launch our newest preaching series: “The Gospel According to Matthew: Jesus Is King”. And as the title suggests, we will be going through the Gospel of Matthew. More on the details of this series later. But for now, you can start to buy your Matthew Journal so you can start to read through it and take notes and prepare your hearts. You can pick them up from the Spring’s house or contact Riley for an alternative arrangement. We have the illustrated pretty editions and the black plain editions.
You may be following the saddening events that are taking place in the US. There is widespread animosity and outrage in communities in the wake of the death of George Floyd. There is mass protesting, and even rioting in some cities. There are constant altercations between citizens and the US and National Guard.
There is fear, there is hatred, there is death.
There is a cry of anguish, and a cry for justice.
And there is a desire for more, for better, for peace, and for love.
As we look on, it can be confusing, and worrying. And there are even reverberations of this in our own nation. But in all of this, we must keep our eyes on things above. We must look up and cry to the God of heaven for his peace and justice to reign. We must plea for the powerful message of the gospel to bring true and lasting repentance and reconciliation. We must seek to be moved by God to be filled with compassion and love. Please pray for Sovereign Grace Pastors in US Churches who are dealing with these issues.
Ephesians 2:13-16
“13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”
The only way to kill hostility and bring reconciliation is through the cross of Christ.
As I mentioned on Sunday, we are glad to announce that we will be starting a new Life Group in Oatlands, led by Henry and Alana Burnett! They are an incredible couple who are devoted to following Jesus and living their life for the glory of God. They are caring, kind, and gifted! Please pray for them as they take on this responsibility, and please remember to reply to my email indicating your preferences for group going forward!
However, this news is bitter sweet, with growth comes change, and with change comes disruption and loss. It will be sad to break up our current life groups but this is one of they challenges and joys of church planting, multiplication for the glory of God and the good of our city!
On Sunday we began reaching the summit of the book of Ephesians and saw that Paul wants to summarize the whole of his letter in terms of a spiritual war between the church and evil spiritual forces. My main point was: “We are in the midst of a dangerous spiritual war, Satan is our enemy, God is our strength, and he has given us all that we need to stand and fight”. Listen to the sermon here so that you can: 1. Know Your Enemy, 2. Know His Schemes, 3. Know Your Divine Battle Plan.
Ladies, please mark your diary for the 5th of June, for a Titus 2 web discussion about, ‘Thriving Not Surviving - Redeeming the Time in a Pandemic’ . 8:00pm - 9:30pm. Please plan on joining us, we love gathering around God’s Word together and with our sisters in Christ from Wahroonga.
The link for the Zoom will be sent out by your growth group leader.
Ladies, please mark your diary for the 5th of June, for a Titus 2 web discussion about, ‘Thriving Not Surviving - Redeeming the Time in a Pandemic’ .
More details to follow, but the time will be from 8:00pm - 9:30pm. Please plan on joining us, we love gathering around God’s Word together.
Recently as SG AUS we were able to give over $33k to Sovereign Grace Churches around the world. A chunk of that went to our beautiful friends in the Fils! Check out this awesome thank you video!
(Remember when you could be with real humans, and less than 1.5 meters apart?!)
One of our strengths as a church is the way you love each other and welcome one another as family. Isolation has forced us inward, now as restrictions ease, let’s wisely and safely re-orient our hearts outward. Perhaps you can ask yourself: “Who can I serve this week?”, “Who can I invite over for a coffee or meal?”, “Who can we Zoom with this Sunday?”. Obviously, there is no pressure to meet up, we all have different circumstances and scenarios, but where you can, let’s do it!
On Sunday we studied Ephesians 6:5-9, Paul’s final instructions to the Christian Household. In this passage we saw that: the gospel redeems and transforms not only every part of our lives but every strata of society. We examined the cultural context of slavery. We saw that the gospel redeems slaves and slavery by redeeming: human dignity, our work, and our relationships. We were challenged how the gospel speaks to masters and transforms their authority and status. Listen to the message here.