Momentum is building for the Spring Clean, and it's only three weeks away. We've managed to source vegetable seedlings from Clovelly Gardens in Waltham, sausages from Barrington Fresh Meats and biscuits from Couplands. It's all beginning to come together, even if it is a bit stressful! Thanks to all those who have already offered their services and responded to requests.
Regular events, such as the Spring Clean, show the community that the Church does not exist for itself; it exists for the good of the world and the glory of the God who loves the world - it is stable (although dynamic), present and gracious. We don't just use our resources for our own benefit, we don't just enrich ourselves, we enlarge the effect of the blessings we have.
In leaflets we'll be dropping we'll be inviting community people to help us with all the things we have to do during the Spring Clean. I hope and pray that we are inundated with calls and offers to help from within and outside Opawa Baptist.
Please note that Steve Taylor is on study leave.
This week I finished a paper on Acts 8:26-40--the story of Philip encountering the Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza, and after having the scriptures interpreted to him beginning with Jesus, the eunuch is converted. This is the first of three personal conversion stories in a row in Acts which follow on from the mass conversions in the first six chapters of the book and is Luke lifting the lid on the individual's response to the hearing of the Gospel.
For me, the stand-out teaching of this passage is the way Luke cleverly shows that Christ includes the eunuch as a full member of his kingdom, which is in complete contrast to the treatment that he had received from Judaism. In Christ the eunuch was able to be a human in all fullness, and thus his rejoicing (v39), was a response both to the eternal promises which were to come to him in the future, as well as knowing that he could live in the present as a person fully acceptable to God.
This is a promise which we can all share in today. Christ accepts us, warts and all, no matter what our gender, our race, our ethnicity.
May God bless you this morning.
Saturday was my daughter Samantha’s 8th birthday. This year would have to have been her most anticipated and talked about birthday so far. As the months have ticked by and the other family members have had their birthdays the excitement and expectation has grown. Hopefully the celebrations yesterday with her friends and family have met her expectations for she surely was buzzing all day.
Birthdays, wedding anniversaries and other milestones are significant events in our lives and their build up should rightly be filled with excitement and anticipation. In preparing for a party, conversations are generated, relationships are evaluated and often people are brought together in ways which would not have happened otherwise. The overflow from a party can last a lot longer than the event itself. Festivals and parties play a huge role within Scripture with the Israelite calendar being built around them.
The question for us today as Sean Pawson introduces our new series on Jacob’s family is: What role do celebrations play in your household? Have you created your own traditions and patterns?
In the lead-up to Christmas, we would love to be able to share in your ideas. So please, if you have great recipes, games or traditions please email the office and we will compile a list. Also, if you have significant milestones / birthdays happening in your family that you would like others to know about, again email the office and we will gladly publish them in the newsletter.
Note: Steve Taylor is on study leave.
This week has been a busy week for me. On Tuesday I went to Wellington to be part of a conversation about biblical justice; Wednesday I was here at church; Thursday at Stepping Stone and Friday back at church with a numb mouth from the anesthetic I got with two fillings; and then to Stepping Stone again on Saturday.
We are in the process of organising the Spring Clean for this year, which will be held on Saturday 18th October with a chance for almost everyone at Opawa to contribute. As part of it we will be walking the streets and picking up rubbish from the roadside, the footpath, playgrounds, parks and the river.
At the Waltham Cottage on Wednesday, I sat and ate my lunch while children ran around and their parents enjoyed each other's company. One lady from the community had been told about our scheduled Spring Clean and wanted to help; she was especially keen to bring her children to clean up our stretch of the Heathcote. Isn't that exciting?!
The Spring Clean is also an opportunity for us to give the church a good once-over, and to help Dave Smith with some things he wouldn't be able to do without our help. It will be a chance for us to evangelise with our actions as a body of believers, to be the hands and feet of the living God in the streets of our community. It is an opportunity to simply love this unique community God has placed us in by simply doing a few things that need to be done.
I look forward to seeing you there :)