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As Christians we are constantly involved in spiritual battles. This Sunday, being Defence Sunday, I thought it would be good to look at what kind of character we need to have to win our battles, live the life God calls us to, and share the gospel with others.
I will remind you again that the gospel is about “making disciples” and according to Jesus we make disciples by teaching them to obey everything that he taught his disciples (Matthew 28). Paul reiterates this in his 2nd letter to Timothy where he passes on some principles that apply to all Christians because we all have a role in passing on to others what we have received from God. As we look at 2 Timothy 2:3-7 together, we will see how we are to be like soldiers, athletes, and farmers. Each of these illustrate that the work of the gospel is strenuous, involving both labour and suffering. Soldiers endure hardship, discipline, taking orders, and are removed from civilian life as part and parcel of being a soldier. No good soldier goes to war surrounded by luxuries and comfort. Soldiers experience and see unpleasant things. It is not a safe activity. Similarly, Christians should not expect an easy life. If we are loyal to the gospel, we will experience opposition, ridicule and “share in his sufferings”. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. We must pass on what we have received in obedience to Christ’s commands so at the end of our days we can say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, …. “ We also need to be like a farmer and work hard. We will then be rewarded with the first fruits of the Harvest. We must sow seeds of righteousness, because we will reap what we sow. And we need to open our eyes to see the harvest is plentiful and go out into the harvest field to do our work. For us to be faithful to our Christian calling and for Mount Eliza Anglican church to grow, we need to be hard workers like farmers, disciplined like athletes, and have the dedication of a good soldier. As we do this, we will receive victory in our battles, the prize for the race run well, and a plentiful harvest to enjoy and give thanks for. Therefore, take courage! And give special thanks for all who have served and fought for our freedoms. Lest we forget! Rev Tanya
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Are you ever surprised by whom Jesus calls to be his disciples and missionaries? I am. And it amazes me that he chose me to be a church leader. When my high school friends first learned I was studying to be a Church minister they laughed. They thought I was the most unlikely candidate. I was a bit of a rebellious teenager and that’s how they remembered me. And I am reminded that Jesus calls the most unlikely people. To be honest, I think all people are a bit unlikely in a way. He doesn’t call any of us because we are good enough or righteous. Each one of us are called only by his mercy and grace.
The calling of Matthew in his Gospel (chapter 9:9-13) reminds us that it is God’s good pleasure and will to call sinners and rebellious people to himself. He wants to save them through faith and relationship with him. Matthew was a perfect example. He was a despised tax collector who mixed with the other outliers of his day. The Pharisees (religious people) frowned upon Jesus mixing with such sinners and tax collectors. They thought Jesus was terrible at teaching the people about God’s ways. But Jesus told them that he came to seek the lost and heal the sick and bring sinners to repentance, like those church leaders should have done. Instead, those Pharisees were judgmental of sinners and stayed away from sick people. They were keeping God away from people. So, Jesus challenged them saying they don’t know their own scriptures. He told them to go away and read their bibles and try to understand what God meant when he said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. God desires that all sinners (which is all people) receive God's mercy through faith in him and what he’s done for us. He wants all of us who are recipients of his mercy and grace to show mercy and grace to others like Jesus did. The self-righteous Pharisees wouldn’t admit they were sinners in need of grace, who failed to enter the kingdom of God, and kept others out too. Take time to reflect who you are more like; judgmental pharisees or Matthew who responded to Jesus’ call to follow him and repented of his sinfulness and introduced Jesus to all his friends, so they could receive his mercy too. Will you be like Matthew and share the good news of Jesus with your friends this week? Maybe you could bring someone along to church this week as Adam Copeland brings us a meaningful message based on this scripture. Peace to you in the name of Christ, Rev. Tanya On Monday afternoons, Amy and I have been reading the Gospel of Mark with two of our youth. I love reading the gospels and reflecting on the way Jesus made disciples. He chose Simon and Andrew to come follow him and taught them to make more disciples (followers) of Jesus. He also called James, John, then Levi and others to join them. Jesus took his team with him as he went out and taught people about the kingdom of God, healed people and set people free.
Jesus' message was good news and his popularity grew. More and more people started to follow him. Christianity (following Jesus) was a movement! It wasn't about going to church on Sunday. It was about sharing the good news about the kingdom of God in the local community. As a result, more and more people became Christians. When my Nana was young, it seemed almost everyone went to church and that was their expression of being a Christian. They didn't necessarily make disciples though, and as a result church attendance has declined. Last week I sat with a network of local Church and community leaders, under the teaching of Phil Mc Creddan, principle of Ecclesia Leadership to ponder the decline in Church attendance, and what we ought to do, or not do, to be more relevant to our world today. I don't have all the answers, but I think we are on the right track with trying to include more discipleship pathways in our Mission Action Plan. We need to get back to making disciples: one person, one relationship at a time, and helping people to grow in their understanding of God's Kingdom and what it means to be a follower of Jesus today. I believe Jesus is calling his followers today to go back to the grass roots of Christianity and be disciples who make disciples, as he always intended. Jesus wants his followers to share the good news of His Kingdom with those around us. He wants to set people free from all that holds them back from living life as God intended, in relationship with him. He is still Goodnews in our post-modern, post-Christendom, western culture and context. The idea of going to church each week, like our grandparents did, may not appeal to younger generations, but they still need Jesus and the Hope he gives to us in this life and the next. Thats why I'm excited about HOPE 25, an initiative of the Anglican Diocese to help churches consider afresh how we can connect with the people around us and share the good news of Jesus with them. At Synod, we spent half an hour with our teams, considering what the Church needs to change (let go of/take on) to make disciples of Jesus today. What do you think we need to do differently? How can we share the good news of Jesus in our local community/networks? Who are you discipling? It's up to every one of us to fulfil the call of Jesus on our lives. We are called to be disciples who make disciples, and when we do that, the church will grow. I'm excited for our future, and I love being in this with you. Yours in Christ, Reverend Tanya Cummings "Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). I've quoted this bible verse to several people this week. This is an easy and non-threatening way to invite people to seek God for themselves and discover that he is good - all the time, even in the storms of life.
In Australia we are unlikely to be persecuted or suffer for sharing our faith, and yet many Christians here are complacent or frightened of rejection. We need to remember that Jesus said, "pick up your cross and follow me". This is an aspect of discipleship that we don't like to talk about much. None of us want to suffer and many of us fear rejection. The reality is that our neighbors and friends are likely to respond well if we share our faith and encourage faith in others in a gentle and respectful way. If we do happen to get an unpleasant response, we can turn our eyes to Jesus and be encouraged that we can be so identified with him. We need to be reminded to "Keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3) In other parts of the world, Christians face persecution and suffer like Jesus did. In some places they are killed, tortured, put in prison, and opposed. This is to be expected as Jesus said that the world hated him and if we follow Jesus, it will hate his followers too. This Sunday, we will hear more about this from our visiting speaker, Lachlan, from Barnabas Aid (another mission agency we support with our financial giving through MEAC). I hope you will join us. This week I pray we will all be emboldened to share our faith with those around us when opportunity arises. We need to always have an answer for the faith we have when people ask us. This is how people come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, and grow in maturity, one conversation at a time. Are you ready to tell people that you have tasted (sought and come to know) the Lord, and know that he is good? Will you encourage others to taste him and come to know him for themselves? Are you willing to suffer for the gospel, if ever needed? Keeping your eyes on Jesus will enable you to endure anything you come up against. God is with you and for you, Reverend Tanya Cummings God is such a generous giver of good gifts. Last Sunday John preached an awesome word, encouraging us to eagerly desire intimate relationship with God and the gifts of the spirit. May God grant each of us our hearts desire to know him more and serve him and others well with the gifts he provides.
This week we consider the greatest gift of all. Love! In Corinthians 13 Paul says that without love, all our other gifts and works are useless. Love needs to be the motivation for everything we do. It needs to be demonstrated in the way we serve and interact as God’s people. Together, we need to be a community who are seeking to live out Jesus' invitation to “love one another” because we know that it's by acts of love and grace that we will be witnesses to and transform our world. As Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr famously said: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Love is powerful! The best news is that Love is a gift that all have access to. This “gift” isn’t limited to the privileged or elite. It isn’t a gift that is only available to the educated or those with the right color skin. Instead, the poor, the uneducated, the disadvantaged … in fact everyone could embrace and practice what Paul calls the greatest gift … love. This is both our privilege and our mission … to love unconditionally and relentlessly. I wonder where and how God might be calling you to show love in action? This Sunday we will have a visiting preacher (Gemma) from FUSION, where she helps to provide homeless youth with a place to belong and receive love and support. As a Church we show our support for FUSION with our prayers, financial giving, food/grocery donations, and on November 9 we are planning a Trivia Night to raise funds to support the work of FUSION. Mark your diaries now and plan to join us. We can all join together to show love in action and make this world a better place for many. We do this out of love for God and others, because he loved us first! God loves you and so do I (as do many others). Reverend Tanya Cummings I encourage you to reflect on the “gifts” God has given you. Also reflect on the attributes that are celebrated and held in high regard in our Church, our workplaces, our local communities? Is there any conflict between your own gifts and what you feel the world celebrates? If so, how have you navigated that tension?
In 1 Corinthians 12:12–31, Paul urges Christians to recognise that each person, each part of the body, has a part to play in the church, the Christian community. Each person has a ministry to exercise, a gift to use, something to offer. Paul wanted to avoid elitist cliques, hierarchies, and factions, so he tells the Corinthians that every part of the body is necessary and honourable. He says: - The parts that seem to be weaker are necessary and indispensable (1 Cor. 12:22). - The parts that seem to be less honorable we should invest with greater honour (1 Cor. 12:23a). - The parts that are unseemly, undignified, or less respectable we should treat as having a greater level of dignity, respectability, and prominence (1 Cor. 12:23b). - The parts that are already respectable and honorable do not need special treatment; they do not need more honour (1 Cor. 12:24). Paul wanted the parts (the people) that seemed to be lowlier to have the same status, theologically and socially, as the already respectable and honourable parts (people). Paul wanted equality, and he associates equality with unity. He wanted equality, unity, and the reciprocal care and concern for each other that results in a harmonious, healthy, functioning body (1 Cor. 12:25–26). This is what God wants for our Church. He wants everyone to have the freedom and opportunity to use the gifts they have been given (1 Cor. 12:11). In the church, God has appointed first, apostles, second, prophets, third, teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, the ability to help others, leadership skills, different kinds of tongues (1 Cor. 12:28). If you have not begun to explore your gifting, you may like to begin here with this free questionnaire (knowing it’s not an exhaustive list of gifts): https://fivefoldministry.com/ Please Speak with Reverend Tanya or Amy about your results. We would love to equip and empower you to serve. We are all in this together. Blessings in Christ, Rev Tanya As we pray and consider how the Lord might use our time, talents and treasures in the coming year, it’s important to remember where these gifts have come from to begin with.
Paul describes a list of what we humble people might call ‘things people are good at’ - some people are good at speaking, some have lots of wisdom from life experience, while others have lots of good knowledge to impart from the things they’ve learned over their life. Others still, can prophecy, tell spirits apart, speak in tongues, and interpret them. Notice the list of many and varied things - but they are all described as ‘gifts’ from the One Spirit - the Holy Spirit of our Triune God. In our life, we may have different seasons to explore the gift God has blessed us with in a new way, or perhaps we’re just discovering the gift he’s blessed us with for the first time! Whatever it is for you, remember it’s a gift not JUST for you, but also for the whole church - God blesses you with a gift that you can bless us with. Thank you for all the times you’ve already shared your gifts with us. And I pray as you spend time with the Lord, he may encourage you to keep sharing and exploring the ways he might continue to use you in our parish in the year ahead. Rev. Amy I think Most people want to be part of something bigger than themselves; to find a sense of belonging, purpose, and a common mission. Thank God we find all these things in Jesus Christ our Saviour who calls us to get on board with his mission in the world.
We are called to share all things in common like the early Church depicted in Acts Chapter 4. All the believers shared what they had with one another for God’s glory and purposes in the local Church. The example of the early Church ought to encourage us to use our wealth, possessions and abilities to serve God and his mission. This Sunday we will focus on ways we can serve to advance God’s kingdom purposes in and through our Church. In the lead up to Sunday, I encourage you to meditate on 1 Peter 4:7-10 which says “The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” As we each pray and discern how God wants us to serve and what he puts on our hearts to give financially over the coming year, I trust God will guide us further into his Kingdom purposes in and through our Church. Isn’t it wonderful that we get to belong to Christ together and be part of His wonderful mission in the world – a purpose so much bigger than ourselves. I love being in this together with you. Every Blessing. Reverend Tanya Cummings In the book of Acts we see how Barnabus and Saul were called and set apart for Ministry to the Gentiles. At the time of their calling, they were worshipping the Lord and fasting and the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them”. So, after the church had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off to do God’s work in the world, spreading the Gospel. This was a specific calling that was given to them even as they were serving in the local church. This reminds us that those who are faithful with the little things will be faithful with much (Luke 16:10).
It also reminds us that God calls people who are spirit filled and prayerful because they will follow His direction as He empowers their lives and ministry. Any effective ministry must be led by people supernaturally enabled by the Holy Spirit! Spiritual people lead lives of consistent Bible study, passionate prayer, holy living, bold witnessing, humble service, and unwavering commitment. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is evident in their lives and world needs to see more of that! We don’t need to have it all together before we begin ministry. When Jesus called his first disciples, they didn’t have it all together, but he taught them about God and his ways and sent them out to be shining lights in the world, passing on the good news to others (This is what discipleship looks like). This is the calling on every Christians. We all need to fulfill our calling as a follower of Christ and at this time I encourage you to prayerfully reflect and seek God’s will for the way he might be calling you to specifically serve in this Parish and beyond. If any among you are discerning a call into Ordained or Lay Ministry please come and speak with me. I would love to hear how God has been speaking to your heart and pray with you for this specific purpose. This Sunday (Vocation Sunday) we will give thanks for those called to Ordained Ministry and specific roles. Peace, Rev. Tanya Prayer is powerful.
Not because it’s magic. Not because of the eloquent or simple words we use or say. But because of WHO we talk to when we pray. When we pray, we are before the Creator of the Universe, Almighty God, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega, the One who holds all things in his hands and who judges all things. When we pray, we pray through Jesus who intercedes for us. In Acts 7:55-56, Stephen is about to be stoned to death when he looks up and sees heaven opened. In his vision, he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he PRAYS. He says, “Lord, do not hold this against them”. Prayer is powerful because it is God who answers them - sometimes in the most surprising ways. Who should stand over Stephen’s death in approval, but Saul, the one whom God changes so radically he becomes crucial in building up the early church instead of tearing it down. The Lord answers Stephen’s prayer. He does not hold Saul’s sin against him. Jesus had already paid for it. Instead he uses that experience to show that God’s love covers a multitude of sins. Prayer is powerful because of who we pray to. And HIS power can do what seems impossible for the spread of His kingdom. So don’t give up praying. Keep praying for our church, for God to bring in younger generations so there is still a church here in 20 years' time. Pray that people, young and old, come to faith. Pray for our Mission Action Plan as a church, that God would show us the way forward. And pray for our Vicar Tanya today as she takes time to spend with God in prayer about all these things. Keep praying. And ask that God would open our eyes to the surprising ways he might answer them for the spread of his Kingdom. Rev. Amy |
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