In Matthew 28:17-20 it says the disciples worshipped then Jesus told them to go out into the world making disciples of all nations. Following Jesus' command to make disciples is something I’m deeply passionate about. Second to worshipping God and loving people, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing than being on about God’s mission in the world. Therefore, I’m really enjoying our month of mission's focus.
After a fantastic week one with Andrew Livingstone from CMS, and a wonderful Sunday hearing and seeing the whole biblical story told through the paintings on the “God’s Dreaming” banner, I hope you’ve been inspired to continue sharing God’s great plan of salvation with all who will listen and/or see. The biblical story shown in pictures has crossed linguistic and cultural barriers showing that Jesus is good news in everyone’s language. May many continue to be saved and healed through the gospel message. This coming Sunday is our 3rd week of mission talks. Our guest speaker is Gemma Bell from Fusion. Fusion do great work locally. As a church we support Fusion with food donations on the first week of each month, and with financial donations periodically. It will be great to hear more about what they do and how that ties in with God’s plans for the world and our local community. The following Sunday (Mother's Day), we hear from George Snyman, CEO of 'Hands at work in Africa" … turning our hearts to the poorest of the poor in Africa. I have met many orphans there and have such a great heart for them. May each of these speakers remind us that we are all called to be on about God’s mission in the world, in many and varied ways. Though it's a different time and era, Jesus' command to his first disciples is still the same command He gives us today; “As you go, wherever you go, Make disciples”. So, I wonder, who are your disciples? Who are you helping to draw closer to Jesus? At Alpha, a small group of us a considering “who Jesus is” this Thursday night. Feel free to join us for dinner, dvd, and discussion if you’d like to know more.
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What a wonderful Easter we enjoyed together.
Thanks to all who joined us for our Maundy Thursday evening with pizza, wine, live music, and a walk through the events of the last evening Jesus spent with his disciples. Good Friday was a meaningful and thought provoking, interactive journey to the cross. And Easter Sunday was a wonderful celebration of or Risen Christ, with Lynton-Allan, a wonderful artist and story teller. The children and adults alike enjoyed his message. We are so blessed to enjoy all these things along with God’s grace and every good gift we need from him. This weekend I’ll be enjoying some time at Margaret River, and Eddie Miller will be Locum. May you continue to enjoy all the blessings of our risen Lord. On Sunday 23rd of April Andrew Livingston from CMS will be our guest preacher. He is the first in a series of preachers/speakers visiting over the coming month who will inspire us to focus on "God’s Mission in the world” and our part in it. This coincides with our own Church’s "on the ground mission focus” as we begin running the Alpha course for locals here. I’m excited!
I trust Andrew will inspire us for our ongoing commitment to support CMS missionaries. We currently partner with the Mackenzie family and Alison Burgess provides quarterly reports. Perhaps you’d like to know more? The following week (Sunday 30th), we will have a guest talk during the service (In addition to my own brief preaching spot) about the work of “God’s Dreaming” in Australia and all over the world. It's such a wonderful story as to how this mission project came about, and it’s legend lives on. You might like to invite your “artist” friends along to this one! For more information about “God’s Dreaming" click here: http://www.godsdreaming.org On May 7th we will have Fusion come and share about the work they do locally, and help us understand why/how our monthly food donations make a difference. We will also acknowledge the Coronation of King Charles that Sunday. And on May 14 (Mothers Day), I offer you insight into my “Mother Heart” for all the orphans in Africa. Our Guest preacher will be George Snyman, CEO of Hands at work in Africa. He is bringing along a crew of fellow advocates for their work among the poorest of the poor. Please come with open hearts and minds to hear about Africa’s struggles. For more information on Hands at work in Africa click here: https://www.handsatwork.org Please also consider sharing the advert above among your networks. With this line up to look forward to, I can’t wait to get back from annual leave! Blessings on the rest of your week. Reverend Tanya Cummings What a wonderful Easter we enjoyed together.
Thanks to all who joined us for our Maundy Thursday evening with pizza, wine, live music, and a walk through the events of the last evening Jesus spent with his disciples. Good Friday was a meaningful and thought provoking, interactive journey to the cross. And Easter Sunday was a wonderful celebration of or Risen Christ, with Lynton-Allan, a wonderful artist and story teller. The children and adults alike enjoyed his message. We are so blessed to enjoy all these things along with God’s grace and every good gift we need from him. This week I’ll be on leave, and praying you continue to enjoy all the blessings of our risen Lord. Love in Christ, Rev. Tanya This is my favourite week of the whole year!
Despite the busy-ness involved with my vocation, I still immerse myself in deep reflection on all Christ has done on our behalf. I am always moved to tears. His grace seems beyond me, yet he offers it so freely. It is no wonder I have given my life back to Him in response of all he has done for me. How about you? How are you travelling with the Lord this week? Does He seem close? Or far? Whatever is going on for you, and however you are feeling… know He is with you. He cares for you. This is absolute truth, and we would all do well to respond with the hope and faith he has given/offered us. May we each receive it and live/abide in it (hard as it may be to do so at times). As Easter, and then Alpha approaches, it is my hope that we will become more and more our authentic selves before the Lord and with each other. May we each simply humble ourselves to “Be” with Him, and one another, and help one another draw closer to Him… Our ultimate Goal! I wonder if this also our desire for all whom we meet? This Sunday we will give out welcome packs to all Newcomers and Visitors (Thanks to Kel Taylor for all his good work on this). It is my hope that we will each pray, speak, and act in line with what we proclaim… as our Vision statement says “We will be a welcoming, united and growing church that cares for, and encourages its members towards Christ-centred worship and service in Mount Eliza and the wider community”. I pray God uses us mightily for His Kingdom Purposes here as we align ourselves with Him and is purposes for us “His Church”. In 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 we are reminded that, Paul planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. Therefore, I ask you to please continue to pray this prayer with me: God of mission, who alone brings growth to Mount Eliza Anglican Church, send your Holy Spirit to give: Vision to our planning, Wisdom to our actions, Joy to our Worship, and Power to our witness. Help our Church to grow in numbers, in spiritual commitment to you, and in service to our local community, Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Let’s trust our good Lord to bring the increase as we faithfully pray and invite our friends, neighbours, and families along this Easter, while gently witnessing to them in our respective lives, as we abide in Christ. Easter Blessings, Rev. Tanya We hear the words of Jesus “Unbind him and let him go”, after Lazarus rose from the dead (John 11).
I am reminded that Jesus came to liberate all people. When he calls us into new life in him; it is a life of freedom. He offers freedom from all that holds us back from living an abundant fruitful life in him. This week you might like to consider stripping off any remnants of the old life that are still keeping you bound. Are you bound with addictions and fears, or feelings of hopelessness or loss? Perhaps you are experiencing grief, anxiety, financial troubles, hatred, resentment, or lack of faith? Jesus comes to call you out of those tombs of despair, denial and death, to new life right now. May he release you and set you free to experience a full and abundance life for His Glory. We can be like a modern-day Lazarus, coming back from the dead so to speak, and though we will still die physically someday, we have the hope of resurrection to eternal life on the day of Jesus Christ. So even then, death won’t be the end, but an entry into a new and better life. God has the power to make dry bones live again (Ezekial 37). He has all power and authority over death and wants to give us life - new life today. This is something we can rejoice in. You might enjoy this song as you ponder and appreciate the new life he’s given you. Click HERE https://youtu.be/W43LfPsrcfs Blessings on your week. Rev. Tanya I don’t know about you, but I am loving the stories of Jesus’ interactions with all sorts of people, as the lectionary readings provide us with each week in lent. I’ve had opportunity to share last week’s story of the woman at the well with several people in the local community, & with a couple of seekers, plus about 100 year 7 students at Peninsula Grammar. Although the woman's interaction with Jesus happened many years ago, it still has much relevance & meaning for all of us today, making it so easy to share with anyone! I hope you also got to share the story and the good news about Jesus with others this past week.
This coming Sunday we take a closer look at Jesus interaction with the man born blind and the series of conversations & events that followed that healing. Again, we see that the interaction with Jesus was transformative, and the blind man then had a great testimony to share. If only the religious leaders of his day would open their eyes to the truth that Jesus is the Christ, rather than dismissing Him as such. Spiritual blindness is still a problem in our day & age. Sometimes it takes years for the scales to fall from people's eyes. Regardless, we continue to pray and spread the good news so more and more people can begin to understand see more clearly that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all and the Saviour we all need. Some will come to see the truth & learn to sing with us: Amazing grace how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, Was blind but now I see. This Sunday we will hear a wonderful testimony of a man who had his spiritual eyes opened in recent years. Come prepared to listen & be encouraged. I pray God continues to give us all clearer spiritual insights and a greater understanding of Himself and His ways. May He continue to remind us of the difference he makes in ours & other people's lives, and cause us to be His witnesses wherever we go. The Lord be with you, Rev. Tanya What are you thankful for this week?
I’m thankful for the opportunity to attend a wonderful conference on "Leading your Church into Growth - Growing the Church the Jesus Way. " A small leadership team attended along with me. We discussed how we can create a prayerful culture of growth, and how we can Implement the 4 P’s (Prayer, Presence, Proclamation, Persuasion), and practice fruitful evangelism, develop more engaging worship, plus become an inviting and welcoming church, make pathways for seekers to become disciples, and we began to plan a journey of growth for our Parish. We came home inspired for Church growth and hope we can also inspire you for this journey. To begin with, we would like to adopt this prayer for Mount Eliza Anglican Church. We pray and work while trusting God for the increase. Will you pray with us? "God of mission, Who alone brings growth to our church, Send your Holy Spirit to give: Vision to our planning, Wisdom to our actions, Joy to our Worship, And Power to our witness. Help our Church to grow in numbers, In spiritual commitment to you, And in service to our local community, Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." This week, I’m also thankful for an awesome time of worship and fellowship with our Wednesday congregation. One lady expressed how helpful my ministry had been to her recently and I felt humbly grateful that God could use me to help her. The conversation left me feeling satisfied, and helped me to catch a small glimpse of what Jesus meant when he said to his disciples, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about” (John 4:32) after his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. This Sunday we will explore that biblical story all the more and include an episode of "The Chosen" that depicts Jesus' interactions with this questionable woman. You can watch here: https://youtu.be/el7dzoNV3IY At the end of the story, we can understand Jesus saying that "Doing God’s will and His work in the world is truly satisfying" (John 4:32-38) and we can also realise that Jesus himself is the perpetual spring that continually refreshes "us" for doing God's work. He is the life-giving water we can draw on and offer to others as the Samaritan woman did. Her interaction with Jesus was transformative, as are our own. When we have those awesome encounters with Jesus, we will want to share our experience with others and draw others to come to him as well. May we do this increasingly. Rev. Tanya What a week it has been! We had our Mothers Union Church service on Monday with guest speaker “Karen Hayden”, President of MU, Diocese of Melbourne. Wednesday began with the Rotary International Woman’s Day Breakfast, followed by our church service, and ended with dinner at Steeples with approx. 45 of our wonderful congregation members. It was great to connect with one another socially. Thanks to Ross for organising. I’m encouraged by our times together.
This week I am reflecting on the way Jesus spent much time socialising with his disciples, as well as teaching them. He ate and drank with them, walked with them, travelled with them, and talked with them about the kingdom of God. He calls us into the same kind of “life on life” discipleship. The book of Acts shows how early Christians met daily and ate together and shared all they had with one another. Though we live in a vastly different culture today, we would do well to stay connected, enjoying fellowship together like we have done this week, and sharing what we have to help our fellow brothers and sisters in need, in addition to worshipping together each week. This Sunday, Alicia will bring a word on our 2nd Lenten study; being “Transformed”. I encourage you to reflect on these two awesome bible readings before Sunday: Genesis 12:1-4a (The call of Abraham) & John 3:1-17 (Jesus teaches Nicodemus about the Kingdom of God). Simon will be leading us in worship with some great old songs you will likely know; “Be thou my Vision” and “Turn your eyes upon Jesus”, and a new one “Holy Spirit Living Breath of God” which you may like to listen to before Sunday. Click HERE to listen I don't have the stomach to be a nurse. I feel faint at the sight of blood. I literally fainted on to a hospital floor when I saw my nana having a blood transfusion. Regardless of how I feel about blood, I realize it is one of the great gifts God has given us and it is central to the biblical story. Jesus' blood is essential for our life, redemption, reconciliation to God, propitiation, Justification, sanctification, cleansing, and victory over the evil one (See 1 Peter 1:18-19, Colossians 1:20, Ephesians 2:13, Romans 3:25, Romans 5:9, cleansing 1 John 1:7).
The power and importance of Jesus shedding His blood is seen right through the bible; beginning with the killing of animals to cover Adam and Eves nakedness after they sinned, Abel’s blood crying out to God from the ground after Cain killed him, God’s covenants with Abraham and all of Israel, The Passover, animal sacrifices in Israel’s Temple Cult system, and in particular the Day of Atonement, which the sacrifice of Jesus fulfilled once and for all. His sacrifice fulfilled all requirements of the Law and opened the way for all people to be reconciled to God through His blood. That’s what remember every time we receive Holy Communion; that his blood was shed for you and for me. It has bought our forgiveness, freedom, right standing with God, and eternal salvation. What a gift! This Sunday, I will bring the third and final message in this mini-series of Gods Great Gifts; His Word, His name, His blood. Please come expectant of God doing amazing things in and among us by the power of His Holy Spirit like he did last Sunday. I praise God for what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives and church. Thank you to those who shared powerful testimonies with me after hearing last week’s message. May we all continue to move closer to him and allow His Holy Spirit to have Has way in us. This is my prayer for each one of us, in Jesus' name. Amen |
Reverend
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