This a quick reminder – and an invitation – to our praise and worship service on Sunday, 2nd June 2013. All are welcome to come and enjoy the singing, to join with us in remembering the sacrifice of our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ, as we take part in communion.

One of our Elders, David Mills, will also be presenting a message from God’s Word, the Bible.

Then we will have a time of fellowship over a cuppa, followed by a church lunch.

Reminder: the Elders are always willing to spend time in prayer after the service with individuals with particular needs.

Service time: 10am Sunday 2nd June.

Venue: Murray Bridge Church of Christ, 32 Seventh Street.

A  CHAIN  REACTION

We often see on television the results of a chain reaction when a line of cars and trucks on a highway have smashed into each other due to fog or an accident.  It is not good for the cars or drivers!

In Psalm 119 we read of a chain reaction that has the power to transform our lives, but not damage them. We have been studying Psalm 119 in KYB, and Warren Wiersbe in his commentary, suggests there are 4 stages for this transformation from verses 169 – 172.

 169 ‘Let my cry come before You, O Lord; give me understanding according to Your Word.’ Do we ask God to help us understand what we are reading in His Word? In verse 18 we read – ‘Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your Law.’

     Prayer leads to understanding.

170 ‘Let my supplication come before You; deliver me according to Your promise.’ When we understand God’s Word, we learn that we can be free from the bondage of Satan’s lies. Jesus said in John 8:32 – ‘You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free.’ If we believe God’s Truth – the Bible – we can live in freedom.

      Understanding leads to freedom.

171 ‘May my lips overflow with praise, for You teach me Your decrees.’ When we understand the freedom we can have in the Lord Jesus and that Satan is a defeated foe, we will want to give thanks to our God.

      Freedom in knowing His Word, fills our hearts with praise.            

172 ‘May my tongue speak of Your Word, for all Your commands are righteous.’ We will want to share what God is teaching us with those who are struggling. As a result of our witness, people may come to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

      Praise leads to witnessing.   

 As we meet this morning, and as we walk with Him through this week, may our hearts be filled with praise as we thank our Heavenly Father for the freedom He gives us in knowing His Word, which helps us to understand Who our Lord Jesus truly is, resulting in us speaking of Him – witnessing to others how precious He is to us.

˄OC

On our recent caravanning trip into Victoria we saw many beautiful sights. Perhaps the highlight was to see the amazing display of autumn leaves in the towns of Bright and Mt Beauty, and on our way home, the small NSW town of Barooga, just over the river from Cobram, near Echuca. Some of the photos we took I have included with this post.

Autumn leaves in Barooga, NSW

Autumn is certainly a beautiful season of mellowness and colour. We see this in the changing colours of our fruit trees. It is also a time of harvest ending in temperate climates, and the associated harvest thanksgiving festivals in many cultures. Although it is not an obvious time of change in our natural Australian environment with its many evergreen plants, the many introduced plants we have go a long way to help us appreciate the change of seasons. From the warmth of summer and the promise of the cold and dampness of the coming winter, autumn is a time of significant transition.

For our many deciduous trees the transition is dramatic. The leaves turn a range of stunning colours, and then the trees shed their leaves, leaving a golden carpet to delight us. By early winter our deciduous trees appear dead, totally bereft of a canopy. Throughout winter the trees appear dead and are waiting; waiting for the rains and sunshine of spring. The trees burst into bud, flower and then new life with a fresh cover of leaves. Many of them also bear delicious fruit.

In the glorious summer of his life, Jesus also produced much fruit – in the form of many who came for healing, for compassion, for understanding, for forgiveness and for salvation. But he did not reach the autumn or the winter of his life. His life was cut short when he was crucified on the cross, dying for each one of us. In winter, leafless trees may appear dead. Jesus didn’t appear dead; he actually was dead. He died and was buried in the grave. He then rose victorious over sin and death.

As we celebrate communion each week, we remember his perfect body sacrificed for us so that we might have forgiveness of our sin. We are thankful for his precious life-blood poured out so freely so that we might know cleansing from all unrighteousness.

˄TH

Mt Beauty, Victoria

Come along to our special church service at Lerwin Nursing Home, Joyce Street Murray Bridge tomorrow 23rd May at 10:30am.

Enjoy singing some well known hymns and songs.

Leader: Trevor Hampel

Speaker: Neil Page.

All welcome.

Our regular monthly meeting at Murraylands Homes for the Aged, Pugh Avenue, Murray Bridge, is on again tomorrow, Tuesday 21st May at 2pm in the Jean Jarvis Centre.

Speaker: Trevor Hampel.

All welcome: afternoon tea provided.

How are you dressed today?

I am sure you are not in your dirty work clothes, unless you have just knocked off from work and had no time to change!

We are coming as a family, into the presence of the King of Kings, and isn’t He worthy of our best, whether that is a suit or jeans?

Paul and Peter wrote about what we should wear when we claim to belong to the Lord Jesus, not just on Sundays, but every day, because if He is sitting on the throne of our hearts, His presence should be seen by others. Paul challenges us in Colossians chapter 3 to ‘put to death ….sexual immorality, dirty mindedness, lust or uncontrolled passion, evil desires and greed which is as serious a sin as idolatry.’

Then to ‘rid yourselves of… anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips and do not lie.’ Why should we do so? Because ‘you have taken off your old self and have put on the new self which is being renewed’ or strengthened as you learn and gain more knowledge about God each day.

Now, ‘because we are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, we must clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, and we are to forgive others, just as the Lord has forgiven us. Then we must put on love, which is like a belt holding everything (all these virtues) in place.

We are to let Christ’s peace be evident in our dealings with others and we must always be thankful to Him. To help us to do this, we must study God’s Word so that it becomes a part of us as it dwells in us and all our words and deeds will show that we belong to Him.

Is your clothing tomorrow, and for the rest of the week, going to show to Whom you belong, as much as it does today?

˄OC

AMBASSADORS for CHRIST.

These words stood out recently, in a missionary magazine with – ‘in Hong Kong’ – added. It got me thinking about another Christian group, Ambassadors for Christ, whose ministry is in encouraging local churches through camps, special times of teaching and training – seeking to build up Christians in their knowledge of God’s Word and then obedience to that Word.

The article about Hong Kong referred to those who are serving God on the ship, the Logos Hope. They come from many countries, speak different languages, and have different skills and yet are able to be seen as one body, who are sharing God’s love and compassion with many different folk in different countries around the world.

Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthian Christians, (5: 18 – 20) writes ‘…  God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, has given us the ministry of reconciliation…. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors.’

What does it mean to be an Ambassador for Christ? We are to be His representatives. What does that mean?  We have to truly know Him, not just know about Him; we have to know Who He is; we have to know what He has done on our behalf; and we have to know what He then wants us to do. What does He want us to do for Him? We are to share the message we have received from Him with others – our friends and neighbours.  What is that message? 

            According to Paul, that message is the wonder of God reconciling us to Himself. How did He do that?  As verse 21 says  ‘God made Him (our Lord Jesus) Who had no sin, to be sin for us.’ Why?  ‘So that, in Him, we might become the righteousness of God.’ (v.21) Paul, and Timothy who was sharing in this plea, wrote –         ‘We implore you, on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.’

As we share in our worship time together, may we be challenged about our ‘Ambassadorship’.

    Are we truly fulfilling our role as His representative and sharing His message of love?

˄OC