On Sunday, we celebrated our final service on Zoom before we go back to in-person gatherings! What a gift Zoom has been to us each week for encouragement, blessing, fellowship, and accountability! But…it’s not substitute for the real thing! Let’s prepare ourselves to re-gather once again!

//

Is there ever a time when enough is enough? Where you are released from the duty to forgive others? Are there any sins or offenses which are so grievous, painful, or sickening, that they can’t be forgiven?

In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus instructs on how to forgive and shows that the power to forgive flows from seeing how deeply we’ve been forgiven!

Listen to the sermon here

Your GG leaders will let you know all the details!

We are back with Life Groups this week! Your LG leaders will send you all the information you need for your Zoom meeting!

On Sunday we saw that Jesus has provided a way for us to deal with the inevitable sin and straying that will happen in the Kingdom Community, the Church. He gave us three steps to pursue one another in a humble and loving way for their good.

Question: Is there any one you need to lovingly pursue who is straying or is their someone who has sinned against you in a way that has really hurt and you need to deal with it? Listen to words of Jesus in Matthew 18:15-20

Matt. 18:15   “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Listen to the sermon here

On Sunday, our Senior Pastor Jesus schooled us in how to have truly great community. The necessary and vital ingredient = humility! Humility is a willingness to consider your status and position as nothing and to consider others more significant than yourself. We say that truly great people are truly concerned for all, for their inclusion, their righteousness, and their progress.

How can you seek to be truly concerned for those in our church this week?

Listen here

We also had the joy of welcoming in two new families into membership! The Kapoor’s and the Davidsons! Please include them into our church family and open your circle to welcome them in!

Your LG leaders will let you know all the details!

I am pleased to announce that we have a new date for SG Parra Retreat! 25-27th February 2022 @ Crusaders Galston Gorge

Please mark it in your calendars now! What a way to kick off the year together!

We are back with Life Groups this week! Your LG leaders will send you all the information you need for your Zoom meeting!

We just finished week 4 of our current Alpha Series and it has been going great! There’s been many good conversations, deep questions, and a general enthusiasm for it.

Please keep praying for the leaders involved and for the participants!

As announced on Sunday, as we look ahead to potentially regathering as a church family we are aiming to uphold all of our biblical principles. As I have studied, prayed and sought counsel I’ve realised that this is a wisdom issue and that there’s no one perfect way of handling all the competing biblical values. If you take one of the values and make it supreme you run the risk of silencing other parts of Scripture. For example:

We are called to Love God and worship Him as a gathering of believers (Heb. 10:24-25) in song and in person (Col. 3:16), we’re also called to Love Neighbour which means keeping each other safe and healthy (Matt. 22:37-40), maintaining the priority of biblical fellowship (Heb 3:12), and upholding unity (Eph. 4:1-6), and we are called to Make Disciples preaching the gospel freely to all (Matt. 28:18-20) and acting in a wise way toward outsiders (Col. 4:6, 1 Pet 2:12), we’re also called to submit to our governing rulers and authorities (Rom 13:1-7, Titus 3:1-2, 1 Peter 2:13-17).

So, as to best uphold those principles here is our roadmap:

Church: begin regathering in person from 80% vaccination rate (hopefully 31st October) so that all can attend regardless of vaccination status.

Life Groups: begin regathering in person from 1 December so that all can attend regardless of vaccination status.

Retreat: postponed until late February (23rd to 25th)

Social Events: We won’t be planning any official church social events until we can all gather and attend. However, if you’re able to and would like to meet up socially, please go ahead and organise things personally. Obviously, this will cause some level of mess and awkwardness with regards to vaccination status, but I encourage you to be big hearted and gracious on both sides, communicate if you feel upset, and do all you can to maintain unity!

If you have any questions, concerns, or queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

May God keep us unified, joyful, and healthy!