Pastoral Care Team contact

If you would like to get in contact with Rhonda, or wish to request a visit from a member of the team, please contact her on 0400 679 703 or email her on rhonda.slocombe@oakflatsanglican.com

Ladies craft afternoon

The ladies are coming together for a fun afternoon at the church this Saturday 26th September from 2pm to 4pm. Bring along any craft or knitting that you might be working on. Afternoon tea will be provided. Please register with the office.

Kids’ Church

Kid’s Church will be taking a break for the next 3 weeks, and will resume on Sunday 18th October. There will be colouring sheets and pencils available for the children to complete during the services.

BCA Boxes due

If you’ve been collecting coins for Bush Church Aid (BCA) please return them for counting as September is the collection month.

Sunday services

A reminder that:

• Numbers are limited to 60 people in the whole church building premises, but only 45 adults in main hall. 
• Children and youth under 18 do not need to physically distance.
• Hand sanitiser must be used.
• Your name and number will be recorded as per Health NSW regulations.
• Wearing a face mask is recommended.
• Stay home if you have any signs of being unwell. We will sadly need to turn you away at the door if you come to church sick.
• Maintain a distance of 1.5m from other people.
• There will be no congregation singing. However you can hum along to the music.
• BYO Bible as church bibles are not available.
• No news sheet or handouts will be given.

As a church, we learn from 1 Corinthians 12-14 that the Holy Spirit gives the members of Oak Flats Anglican gifts for the common good. These gifts are is to be used with self-giving love, so that the church is built up. 
 
One important task in the church is that of pastoral care. In this area, as with all others, God has equipped a number of people for the job.
 
A strength of our church is the high percentage of people in in Bible study groups. In these, consistent pastoral care happens, where week-by-week people share fellowship in Christ, read the Bible, pray for one another and on occasion meet practical requests. 
 
But outside of this there are a number of others unable to make a Bible study who would benefit from this too. Personally, I meet with some, but I cannot meet with all consistently enough. But I do want to see that this happens, so I’ve invited others to have regular contact with people outside of Bible study groups.
 
I am pleased to say that many of you have already been doing this, and a number have expressed a desire to ‘fill in the gaps’ and coordinate how we do this overall. Thank you! We have met and begun to plan what we will do.
 
This team will be led by Rhonda Slocombe, and they will work at keeping in touch with those outside of Bible studies, by regular phone call or visit. But if something out of the ordinary comes up other church members can also be in contact. 
 
I will still call, visit and speak to people across the church. But I plan and pray that within the whole body of the church we all grow in loving and serving one another.

– SAM PURSELL

RECONCILIATION
2 Corinthians 5:11-16
Andy Peters • 13^th September 2020

A worldly point of view

A New Creation

Reconciliation

How is this possible?

Conclusion

Download a copy of this as a PDF from here: Reconciliation – 2 Corinthians 5:11-16 – Andy Peters – 13th September 2020.

Happy Father’s Day

We’d like to wish all of our fathers an awesome and blessed day!

Spring Prayer Diary

The latest Wollongong Region Prayer diary is now available. You can view it online at https://bit.ly/3jJglqc or ask Val to print one off if you want a hard copy. 

Photos for website

In preparation for updating our website, Val will be taking photos this week. Please let her know if you do not wish to be included.

BCA Boxes due

If you’ve been collecting coins for Bush Church Aid (BCA) please return them for counting as September is the collection month.

Sunday services

A reminder that:

• Numbers are limited to 60 people in the whole church building premises, but only 45 adults in main hall. 
• Children and youth under 18 do not need to physically distance.
• Hand sanitiser must be used.
• Your name and number will be recorded as per Health NSW regulations.
• Wearing a face mask is recommended.
• Stay home if you have any signs of being unwell. We will sadly need to turn you away at the door if you come to church sick.
• Maintain a distance of 1.5m from other people.
• There will be no congregation singing. However you can hum along to the music.
• BYO Bible as church bibles are not available.
• No news sheet or handouts will be given.

Often in life there are many things which we want to become or do, but cannot because we are held back by something else. The same is true for Christians.

This might particularly be felt by those who have been Christian for a while. Early on, you are in awe of everything that God has done for you in Christ, and all that he has planned. This gives you energy and drive. But as time goes on, you recognise that there is a dragging weight of the consequences of sin, and past and current failures.

So, in the Lord’s prayer having been given a vision for God’s good reality:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.’

Our daily needs:

‘Give us today our daily bread.’

We pray for freedom from that which holds us back from honouring God’s name, desiring his kingdom and doing his will:

‘forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from the evil one.’

True freedom is to be released from sin and temptation, so we can live for God who is completely good. 

Do you pray to be free?

– Sam Pursell