In the evening, we will have our mid-year Church Family Meeting. To give us updates on how things have been going (ministries and finances) and to give you a vision for what the remainder of the year is going to look like!
We would love for you to join us on this day so please lock the date in your calendars if you would like to attend.
Time: Dinner 4pm, Meeting 5pm, Kid’s Movie (TBD)
Where: Iron St Chapel
Friends, I wanted to give you an update to let you know that after much prayer, Noah has decided to move up to Macksville to be with his family. His last service with us will be this Sunday, 24th July. There’ll be a chance at the end of the service to farewell Noah and pray with him to send him off. You can also join us for lunch after church at the Spring’s house and hang with him there!
I want to take this opportunity to thank Noah for his example in what it means to expressively love the Lord, serve the church community joyfully, his genuine care and warmth to all he engages with and his zeal for the gospel to be spread.
It’s always hard to say “goodbye” but we continue to trust in the Lord’s Sovereign plans for Noah - he will surely be missed!
Parenting can be a challenge... but thank God we don't have to face it alone! Come and join Wahroonga’s next ‘Equipped For Life’ evening. The night will consist of a 15 min Bible talk by Dave Taylor on parenting followed by a panel discussion with Riley and Maddison Spring along side Dave and Emma Taylor.
Topic: Building Stronger Families: An honest conversation about parenting
Where: Wednesday August 10, 7:30-9:30pm at Fox Valley Community Centre
Everyone is welcome to join!
Please make sure you fill in the Special Diets form that was sent to you from the email for ALL members of your family (including kids) ‘Venue360Collaroy@etc’ with the Subject ‘Your Stay at the Collaroy Centre’
This needs to be done by July 14, if we don’t get them done they will charge us $10pp….and with 275 or more people going…that could get very costly!
If you don’t have that email, please email cs@sovgrace.org.au and let Carolina know!
Thanks!
This week the Core Team and their wives are heading away for a prayer and planning retreat. Please take some time to pray for us. This group is so important and pivotal to the health and life of our church and they are such a great support to myself as the Pastor. Their input, feedback, evaluation, and service are invaluable! If you have anything you’d like us to think about or discuss while we’re away, please email me!
Riley
Our next Kids Workers Meeting is coming up July 20th, so please mark it in your diary if you serve in SG Kids OR would like to start serving in SG Kids going forward!
As you know, we only have two of these a year and so please do your best to be there!
These nights are always really encouraging and very helpful.
Together is only 22 days away! It’s awesome to see how many people are booked in across our two churches! I cannot wait!
Please make sure you fill in the Special Diets form that was sent to you from the email ‘Venue360Collaroy@etc’ with the Subject ‘Your Stay at the Collaroy Centre’
This needs to be done by July 14, if we don’t get them done they will charge us $10pp….and with 275 or more people going…that could get very costly!
If you don’t have that email, please email cs@sovgrace.org.au and let Carolina know!
Thanks!
Roe vs Wade
You may have seen that in the USA the infamous Roe vs. Wade (1973) decision by the Supreme Court regarding abortion has been overturned. This means that each state will now decide it’s own regulations and laws concerning abortion, with roughly half of US states on track to ban most abortion practices. This has caused a wide range of reactions from celebration to panic both in the US and even here in Australia.
It’s a Moral Issue
Although the fight for life gains lots of media attention in the US as a political issue, it’s often overlooked and sidelined here in Australia, even by us Christians, as a “US thing”…But this is not the case, abortion is not primarily a political issue but a moral issue. And it is the moral issue of our generation. For example, we all know the horrors of the holocaust of the Jewish people in the 1940’s which killed an estimated 6 million people. We may not realize that, every year globally, there is an estimated 50 million abortions. Nearly 10 times the amount of babies are killed in the womb every year, multiply that number by the number of years abortion has been widely practiced and we have an unimaginable holocaust of babies. There are untold numbers of unmarked graves.
So, the overturning of Roe vs Wade is a great step forward in the fight for human life and dignity, one which we should celebrate. And It should give us hope here in Australia that through God’s grace and lots of hard work, we too may be able to see progress as we long to see the overturn of this horrific practice, the immoral killing of the unborn.
Step Into It
Though it is a very sensitive topic, we ought not to back away from discussing it, celebrating the victories we may have, and pressing into the moral dilemma. Vulnerable human lives, by the thousands, are affected every year in Australia. This includes both the mother and the child. That being said, we must also realize there are certain extenuating medical circumstances that may make these decisions more grey than black and white, and so we should be sensitive to each and everyone’s story.
Often those who are ‘Pro-Life’ only think about the babies, and disregard the plight of women, and on the flip side, those who are ‘Pro-Choice’ are more concerned with the rights of the mother, not the baby. But as Christian’s, we need to care deeply for both. I don’t have the answers as to how to do that but we need to walk in that direction.
Gospel Hope, Gentle Hearts
Many of us are affected by this in different ways. As always, our great hope and security is the knowledge of the gospel. That, for anyone who has had an abortion, if you confess your sin, and repent, turning to Christ, his blood covers it all, the guilt, the shame, and the punishment.
We need to be gentle, loving, and winsome as we deal with this issue but we also need to be courageous and bold to stand against that which is patently evil.
If you are troubled, concerned, or need to chat about this, please reach out to me or a Christian brother or sister you trust.
Resources:
Here are a few links to resources that have helped me be informed and think about it recently:
1) 10 Things You Should Know About Abortion - Crossway
A great quote: “Post-abortion men and women do not need an excuse. They need an exchange: Christ’s righteousness for their sinfulness. Like all forgiven sinners, post-abortion men and women can live each day assured God accepts them on the basis of Christ’s righteousness, not their own.”
2) A Free E-Book, 'The Case For Life’ by Scott Klussendorf -
I have not read this yet but I heard a podcast of the author explaining it and it sounded great, and I look forward to digging into it.
3) Roe vs Wade Now What? Crossway Podcast
A chat with a pro-life activist and what the future holds in the US. There are lessons we can learn for us here in Australia.
4) Pro-Life - John Dickson’s ‘Undeceptions’ Podcast
This is very sensitive and winsome. He outlines an argument for Pro-Life which doesn’t rely on the Bible and he gives hope for those who have had or conducted an abortion.
To close, can I commend to you to read Psalm 139:13-16?
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
Friends, you serve SO well! I am constantly amazed and in awe of how God is at work in you to lead so many of you to so consistently and sacrificially lay down your life, like Christ, to serve God and others! A massive thank you!
As we begin to work on the new roster, I wanted to acknowledge and recognize that there are times when we all get tired, pushed to our limits, and need to rest and take a break, or change up how we are serving for a variety of reasons.
And I want you to know that if that’s you, then that’s totally OK! If you need a break, or a reassignment for whatever reason, then please contact myself or your team leader and let us know so that we can chat with you to find out how we can best serve you, and if need be, rework things! Please don’t suffer in silence!
I know that sometimes I may have been too strong in exhorting us to serve, or put on too much for us as a church in my enthusiasm, and sometimes people may have felt pushed too hard or like they can’t say no etc. I want to own that, and apologise for it. The last thing i’d want for us as a church is to look healthy on the outside, but weary, tired, and depleted on the inside!
So, going forward, let’s do all we can to serve with joy and gladness (Psalm 100:2), like our Saviour (Mark 10:45), for God’s glory and not our own (Psalm 115:1), and if we need some help, a rest, or some encouragement, please do reach out!
John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
In Christ,
Riley
As you may or may not be aware, the Pettett's are experiencing a chronic health challenge. Their current health situation means that they are in need of some practical help from the body of Christ.
My plan is to help them out by putting together a cleaning roster asking volunteers to help out once a month.
So, if you are willing and able to help in some capacity, then please respond in email by the end of June to joel.e.seric@gmail.com your offer of service commitment, once off, semi-regularly, regularly. Subsequently, further details around coordinating the care will be sent later.
There is no guilt or pressure if you are unable to serve in this capacity as the Pettetts have a wonderful trust in the sovereignty of God and know that the Lord will provide exactly for their needs.
From Joel Seric
