Sunday, 5th

May 2020 News Bulletin

Revelation 2:8-11

To the Church in Smyrna 8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your pov-erty—yet you are rich! I know about the slan-der of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Sunday Family Service 10am

zoom.us/j/271655712

Zoom Discussion Questions:

1. What are some great trades that you have made?

2. What kind of persecution and hard-ships do we face here in North Ryde?

3. What does it mean to be faithful? What does it look like? Are you being faithful all the time?

4. How can we practically help each oth-er to cling onto the great truths of the gospel in times of hardship? Share some prayer points and pray for each other.

Letter to the Churches: Revelation 2:8-11—Smyrna

Faithfulness is worth it Introduction – Kyle MacDonald, the red pa-perclip guy Smyrna – A beautiful city V8 – A message from Jesus V9-10 Conflict Accusations from the Jewish community Led to imprisonment and death at the hands of the Romans V9-10 Victory! Spiritually rich given the crown of life Jesus is the firstfruits. He is raised back to life, so will we. Application • Open Doors • Be Faithful! • Encouragement from Romans 8:35-39

Read our newsletters, listen to messages, find resources, connect

www.northrydeanglican.org.au

SUNDAY SERVICES

All services currently cancelled due to the

spread of the coronavirus COVID19

You can find out more about accessing our

online community at our website

www.northrydeanglican.org.au

bit.lt/nrac-youtube

ST JOHN’S NORTH RYDE ANGLICAN

Ph: (02) 9878 3974 office@northrydeanglican.org.au

152 Cox’s Rd North Ryde 2113 Find us in the middle of the community hub of North Ryde—we are located in the

centre of the Cox’s Rd Shopping district, adjacent to North Ryde Public School,

opposite IGA and North Ryde Library. There are around 30 onsite car parking spots,

with adjacent council car parking and shopping centre parking

Safe Ministry Representative: belinda@northrydeanglican.org.au

www.northrydeanglican.org.au

Children & Youth pastor

Lauren King

Mob: 0411 594 681

St John’s Preschool Team. Ph: 9888 7835

L-R: Elena, Kathy (director) Sophia, Mary, Joan

L-R (Front): Yukari, Brenda & Jo

Student Minister

Matt Goodman

(Lisa & Olivia)

Mob: 0430 358 191

Senior Minister: John Chappell

(Kylie, Joseph, Tara, Nathaniel & Jacob)

Ph: 9878 3974 & 0403 812 782.

2020 Parish

Council Chris Aspland, Peter

Bliss, John & Kylie

Chappell, Bruce

Duncan, Francis

Gosling, Jennifer

Harrison, Rick Wu

2020 Wardens Chris Aspland

Ph: 0419 887 218

Peter Bliss

Ph: 9878 3978

Mandarin Pastor

Simon Pei

Mob: 0416 988 896

Mandarin Pastor

Michael Yip

Mob: 0414 810 827

Treasurer

Bruce Duncan

Mob: 0419 626 860

Student Minister

Jireh Jang (Celia)

Mob: 0430 368 861

Giving @ St John’s Can you partner with others in our church in helping to meet our target? The best way to do this is via the Tithely

App or by electronic transfer (please use the description "Offertory" - no need to add your own details).

BSB: 032 088 Account: 810054 Currently over 50% of all offertory is given electronically which reduces effort and risk for us so is much appreciated. If you

can give more with a tax deductible donation, please contact our treasurer to make the required arrangements.

Bruce Duncan 0419626860 or treasurer@northrydeanglican.org.au

MTS Trainee

Raph Li

Mob: 0426 959 832

A new way to give electronically! Download the Tithely App—Make an account & find St John’s Anglican Church North Ryde

Add your credit card. Give either once or automate. Thankyou !

WHAT DO CHRISTIANS BELIEVE? The bible explains that our world is God’s good

creation, a display of his honour and majesty. How-

ever, humanity has chosen to try to run life inde-

pendently from God. This has disastrous conse-

quences. Life lived in opposition to the maker natu-

rally breaks down—we cannot control God’s world

without him. We begin to experience the just

judgement from the maker we have rebelled

against.

Creation no longer reflects the majesty and honour

of God. God could justly put an end to his rebel-

lious creatures, but in his love, treats us differently to

what we deserve.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one

and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall

not perish but have eternal life”

John, Chapter 3 verse 16

(John 3:16 Mandarin)

(John 3:16 Japanese) Jesus, the Son of God, is God’s rescue plan for his re-

bellious creatures. Jesus did not rebel against God—he

was perfect. He is God’s gift to us in that he, being the

perfect human, can be punished or judged in our

place. On the cross Jesus Christ dies taking the punish-

ment of separation from God that we all deserve.

Therefore, anyone who believes in him can escape

God’s anger. But that is not all, they can reconnect

with God and start to experience life the way it should

be, finding true freedom in obediently serving our

creator.

The bible explains that this sacrificial action of Jesus

brings great honour to God. All who believe in Jesus

continue to bring honour to God. But God’s patience

with ongoing rebels who bring him dishonour will run

out, and Jesus will soon return to eternally punish.

Christians are eternally thankful to Jesus as our saviour,

and strive to live rightly under him as Lord and master.

The bible explains that we need supernatural help to

do this. We can never be thankful enough or good

enough to earn ‘saved’ status. We must be saved first,

then thankfulness and obedience rightly follow.

Will you accept God’s rescue plan?

in Jesus right now ?

PRAYER POINTS Prayer points are compiled in the church office. Please email

• Thank God for our ministry team. Pray for wis-

dom, compassion and energy during this time. • Pray for the persecuted church throughout the

world and for the ministry of Open Dorrs • Give thanks for and pray for emergency ser-

vices—Doctors, nurses, police, ambulance, so-cial workers

• Pray for our New Horizons congregation follow-ing the news that we won’t be able to con-duct services until after April, nor visit residents. Pray for all the congregation, particularly Nor-mal Grenier and Dennis Turnbull who has just arrived for respite care. Pray for Richard and DT team who are serving the residents

• Pray for our Federal, State and Local govern-ments as they prepare services to assist with the virus spread

• Pray for the blood bank (lifeblood) staff and for generosity in a time of crisis

• Thank God for the staff team. Thank God for their efforts in personally ringing 1700 families in the North Ryde and Macquarie Park area this week. Pray for fruitful conversations.

• Pray for wisdom as we continue to encourage and support our SRE children even though classes are now over. Pray for Ashley as she li-aises with the principal of Ryde Secondary in relation to online biblical curriculum.

• Pray for our Archbishop Glenn Davies and re-gional bishop Chris Edwards. Pray for the shop owners along Cox’s Rd. Give them your peace as staff are being laid off and business has fall-en 80%. May they trust in you.

• Pray for Peter Bliss, Sandra Turnbull, Norma Grenier, Wilma Wilson.

• Pray that we might be able to connect with our brothers and sisters better who find tech-nology a challenge.

Giving @ St John’s Can you partner with others in our church in helping to meet our tar-

get? The best way to do this is via the Tithely App or by electronic

transfer (please use the description "Offertory" - no need to add your

own details).

BSB: 032 088 Account: 810054 Currently over 50% of all offertory is given electronically which reduces effort

and risk for us so is much appreciated. If you can give more with a tax de-

ductible donation, please contact our treasurer to make the required ar-

rangements.

Bruce Duncan 0419626860 or treasurer@northrydeanglican.org.au

Do you have archival photos or annecdotes to share? Please pass on this invite to any locals who graduated from or were staff at St John’s. We are hoping to hold a celebration in November.

Resources available on our Facebook Page Southern Cross, Kids Church session

Prayer for frontline health workers and leaders Our heavenly Father, we come before you with contrite hearts, yearning for your comfort and your grace. In the midst of COVID-19 spreading across the globe, we ask in your mercy that you would stop this plague and restore har-mony and health to the nations, and es-pecially Australia. We thank you for all those who have dedicated their lives to serving our community, for health work-ers, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and es-pecially those who labour In laborato-ries seeking a vaccine for the Corona-virus. Give them wisdom, skill and pa-tience in their work, and by your grace, give them success in their endeavours. We also pray for those who govern us, for our Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers, for their courageous leadership and national cooperation across States and Territories. Grant them wisdom in their decisions as they navi-gate the threats to lives and livelihoods. We also pray for our police force, our emergency services and defence force personnel as they seek to maintain order in our country. May all Australians re-spect their work, accept the limitations on our freedoms and seek the welfare of others, for the good of all. And we pray for ourselves and our fami-lies, especially those who have lost loved ones to this disease, or those suf-fering from its effects. May we know the peace that passes understanding, as we place our trust in Jesus, in whose power-ful name we pray. Amen.

Prayers for Mothers

O Loving Lord, You have created mothers in love and blessed them with children. As they work tirelessly to support their families may they be showered with your blessings. Give mothers strength to exercise compassion as they live each day under your care. May those who are joined in your love, support mothers by their fervour of spirit and devotion to prayer. Amen We thank you, O Lord, for the gift of Motherhood. May those blessed with children be granted the gifts of courage, perseverance and good health. May they face each new day with faith and hope in your abiding love. May all families find in the strength of your love The priceless gift of peace And so bear witness to your glory. Amen As Mary was the model of prayer, of love, and of obedience to the will of God, by your grace make mothers holy and rich with your gifts. Bind families together in the bonds of peace and safety so that mothers will feel nurtured by love. May all mothers enjoy good health and spiritual well being to enable them to care for their families.

Never Alone - Using our isola-tion for the sake of eternity

Glenn Davies 1st May 2020 If we had not understood the word “isolation” before now, then we have all had a heavy dose of this experience in the past month! The Government’s restrictions on movement have impacted us all, with the strong message: “Stay home!”. While some will be working in essential services and able to leave their homes, the rest of us will only have the oppor-tunity of leaving our residence for exercise, medical ap-pointments or essential shopping. We can no longer “go” to church, but church comes to us in the confines of our living rooms, on TV screens or computers, as we experience a whole new way of gathering electronically. It is indeed a brave new world into which we have been plunged. GOD CREATED US TO BE TOGETHER God’s creative purposes for humankind were always socie-tal and communal – “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Therefore it is no wonder that we are feeling strange in isolation. However, isolation is not new for the people of God, although it is usually experienced in times of grief or even times of chastisement. The first people to be isolated, of course, were Adam and Eve, when God cast them out of the Garden of Eden due to their disobedience. They were isolated from the pristine environment that God had provided, symbolised by their being denied access to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). Yet God was still with them. Their absence from the Garden did not mean absence from God. Adam and Eve were the first people to be isolated Elijah experienced two episodes of isolation. The first was at God’s direction when he went to the brook Cherith in the time of Israel’s drought. There for more than two years he was fed bread and meat by ravens and was refreshed by the waters of the brook. But he had no human contact. We don’t even know if he had copies of the five books of Mo-ses, or some psalms of David. Perhaps he knew these by heart and, like the author of Psalm 1, he “meditated on God’s law day and night”. However, God was with him even in his loneliness and extreme “social distance” from other humans. The other occasion for Elijah was of his own doing, when he

“ran for his life” as he fled from Ahab and the threat of Jez-ebel’s wrath. I have always found this a strange response from Elijah after his triumph at Mount Carmel, and so short-ly after God’s protection and provision for his sustenance during the years of drought. Yet, there he is, fleeing to the desert – all alone. ELIJAH KNEW GOD WAS WITH HIM Of course, God is still with him and he knows it, for he be-seeches God: “I have had enough, LORD, take my life” (1 Kings 19:4). In response, God sends his angel to Elijah to refresh him for a journey to Mount Sinai, the place where God’s covenant with Israel was established. There, in the aloneness of a cave on the mount of God, he hears in a gentle whisper the voice of his maker and fresh instructions are given him for his prophetic ministry. God still had work for him to do. God was with Elijah in his solitary journey of 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Sinai, just as God was with Moses on the same mount for 40 days and 40 nights. It is not coinci-dental that our Lord went alone into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. Each of the Synoptic Gospels record Jesus’ being led by the Holy Spirit for this time of testing by the Devil. Yet in this isolation from human contact, the triune God with his holy angels communed together (Mark 1:13). Here, where Elijah had failed, Jesus succeeded. In the face of temptation, Jesus never wavered. As Son of Man his confidence in God’s enabling by his Spirit was his surety; as the Son of God his trust in God’s word was the foundation of his obedience. He could therefore confound the attacks of the Devil by citing the promises of God’s word, in the knowledge that God was with him. DID GOD EVER ABANDON JESUS? It is sometimes thought that God abandoned Jesus on the cross, leaving him alone. Yet this is not true. In the upper room Jesus predicted his disciples’ desertion, knowing that they would leave him all alone, “Yet,” he says, “I am not alone, for the Father is with me” (John 16:32). Jesus’ cry of being forsaken on the cross was not abandonment, but ra-ther judgment. He who was the beloved had simultaneously become the accursed. He who knew no sin, became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). That is the mystery of the cross and the fountain of our salvation. Therefore we are never alone. Despite the social re-strictions that we suffer, despite feeling all alone in our homes – especially those who do live alone – our God is with us. He is our Immanuel. For nothing can separate us from the love of Christ: not tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril nor Coronavirus! We are never alone Let us therefore use this isolation to reflect more deeply upon God’s word, as Moses and Elijah did on Mount Sinai, and as Jesus did in the wilderness. We may have more than 40 days of isolation but we have an ever-present God, whose Son is with us by his Spirit both now and into eternity

Remote Care and Support

For senior North Ryde

Residents

Dear senior friends, Sadly, our church gatherings can no longer happen face to face. However, we are still praying for you and

want to offer a number of options for you to join with us

Join us for an hour long prayer book service live on Monday mornings at 10am. If you have access to the internet and a device, you can join us through zoom on

https://zoom.us/j/924305151 If the link doesn’t work, you can start the zoom app and enter Meeting ID: 924 305 151

If you don’t have access to zoom you can join us on the phone:

Dial 8015 6011 then type 924305151# pause then # IF you are a carer, you can add this as contact into a mobile phone for direct dial in each week. Make a

new contact e.g. ‘Seniors service’ then enter the mobile number: 80156011,,924305151#,,#

If you are in a nursing home, there is a possibility that this service will be available on a big screen in the dining room.

Our Daily Bread Resources for growing in our relationship with Jesus We are encouraging our seniors to continue to grow in their relationship with Jesus daily. We are using the ‘Our Daily Bread’ material with both

bible reading and devotion. Go to the website:

odb.org click on daily devotion, and listen to the bible reflection.