I hope that your heart is strengthened by God’s grace (Hebrews 13:9) today as are reminded of the gospel of God’s grace to us in Christ.
Our bell ringers ring every Sunday to summon us to church, prior to the morning service. Today there is a special ring to mark an astonishing occasion. Today (Sunday 6th February) is the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II ascending the throne!
This is also our Vision Sunday, when we commission our ministry leaders, and get excited together about our plans for the year, which we pray that God will prosper. Today my sermon is going to be tempered with a certain amount of reality: ministry in this “time which we thought would be post-COVID but isn’t” is challenging. However, the rock-solid promises of our all-powerful God gives us comfort and strength to keep serving.
My sermon is on the account in Acts 18 of Paul’s ministry in Corinth. This will lead into a series of sermons, starting next week, on Paul’s letter to that congregation, 1 Corinthians.
I want to highlight a big event coming up next month. On Sunday 13th March, Archbishop Kanishka Raffel will be joining us here for a special service and dedication of our new slate roof, completed last year through the generosity of parishioners. Church will be at the special time of 10 am, followed by a “bring a plate” lunch. I hope you will make a special point of being here for a great day.
A little sooner, we are looking forward to a deputation visit from our ministry partners Jerome and Indra, who will be with us in two weeks, on Sunday 20th Feb. They will also be around during the week for a number of special events which will give us a chance, not only to hear about their work overseas, but also to benefit from their particular ministry gifts.
Here is the schedule:
Wed 23 Feb
10 am Women’s morning tea with Indra
7.30 pm Easy ways to share your faith with Jerome
Thu 24 Feb
12 pm Mission Prayer
7.15 pm Science and Christianity with Jerome