All Souls Anglican Church | 02 9569 2646
The Journal
05
May
0

Blessed by God so we may bless others

Comments · Permalink

Blessed by God so we may bless others In the next section of teaching from Jesus in Matthew 5:13-20 Jesus shows us how the new life that He is growing in us is to be expressed in the world around us. He uses 2 pictures of being Salt and light to communicate God’s purpose for our lives. Salt was used in the ancient world to stop food from rotting and so Jesus expects that we will engage in the world around us and bring hope in Christ. Salt also brings flavour to food and the Christian life invariably points to the beauty of Jesus. The other picture is that of being the light of the world. This implies that our world without Christ is in darkness and needs the light of Christ. As we engage with the world and do good works we will point people to Jesus and what He offers is much better than what the world offers. In the last section 5:17-20 Jesus says that He has come to fulfil the Law. This is great news for us because even though we have failed to obey God’s Law fully Jesus has completely obeyed the Law on our behalf and so now we can rest in His obedience. The Law is still very important for the Christian because through the Law God shows us what He is like and what He requires in terms of Christian living. Our great hope is that in Ezekiel 36:25-27 God writes His law in our hearts so we may obey Him. God’s Blessing - Rev David O’Mara 

Continue Reading..

28
Apr
0

The way down is the way up

Comments · Permalink

The way down is the way up Matthew 5:1-12 is known as the Beatitudes and speaks of the qualities of the Christian life. The first 4 beatitudes focus on our relationship with God and the next 4 focus on our relationship with each other. The first beatitude in v3 and the last beatitude in v10 ends with the same reward which is the Kingdom of heaven. So these verses focus on life in the kingdom of heaven and the qualities which God grows in us. Some of the translations use the word happy instead of blessed. Jesus is not declaring how people feel but rather he is making an objective statement about what God thinks of them. Blessed means that people have God’s favour on their lives. So being blessed is the pronouncement of what we are - approved. Blessed indicates that the smile of God is upon us. These beatitudes are not something we achieve through our own strength and power. Like all obedience and growth in godliness it is brought about by faith in God and His promises and is the fruit of His Spirit. This is why the first beatitude about being poor in spirit is absolutely critical to the rest. Being poor in spirit means that we see our spiritual poverty and this is when we are open to depending on God and not on ourselves. Progress in the Christian life begins by humbling ourselves and seeing that we are spiritually needy. The second beatitude is about mourning or crying over our sin with the promise of being comforted. As we see our sin God promises to comfort us as we mourn over our sin. He comforts us by providing forgiveness of sins and granting us peace - Romans 5:1 and removing condemnation from us Romans 8:1. Each of these beatitudes build on one another and they are all a work of God’s grace in us ! Jesus speaks about the importance of being poor in spirit in another way - For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted - Luke 18:14 God’s Blessing - Rev David O’Mara 

Continue Reading..

21
Apr
0

Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene

Comments · Permalink

Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene John 20:1-18 is packed with spiritual encouragement. In v2 Mary is not expecting that Jesus is risen. Her first reaction is to go and tell the disciples that someone has taken Jesus body. Later on she is crying and upset at what has happened to the body of Jesus and she sees 2 angels who ask her why she is crying v13. For some reason she suddenly turns around. Perhaps the angels looked behind her. Jesus appears before her but she doesn’t recognise Jesus v14 and He asks Mary who she is looking for ? v15 Again we learn that Mary thought this person is someone other than Jesus perhaps a gardener but when Jesus calls her name :- Mary recognises Him. Earlier in John 10:16 Jesus indicates that His sheep, that is those who are His children listen to His voice. Mary is demonstrating that she is one of His children. People will often say in regard to Christianity that seeing is believing. It is interesting that when Mary first sees Jesus see she doesn’t recognise Him. There is deep truth here that without God revealing Himself to us we can’t truly see Jesus. To put it another way that unless our eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit we are unable to recognise Jesus. Later in John 20:30-31 John explains that the purpose of writing the Gospel is that we may hear God’s Word and believe. Faith opens our eyes. The early disciples saw the risen Christ and this was important because they are the eyewitnesses so that our faith is based on evidence as it forms God’s Word. Even Thomas is painted as an anti type. He says unless I see I won’t believe but Jesus says in 20:29 about Thomas - Because you have seen me you have believed, blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. The pathway or route to saving faith is now to hear the message. Many people saw Jesus and walked with Him and talked with Him but didn’t believe. Seeing Jesus physically doesn’t guarantee belief because our hearts are hard. Only a miracle can open our hard hearts and that is what the power of the Gospel does. Jesus is revealed to us as the death of Jesus for our sins and His resurrection is preached. Believing is seeing ! God’s Blessing and Happy Easter - Rev David O’Mara 

Continue Reading..

14
Apr
0

The full extent of Jesus' love

Comments · Permalink

God serves us & empowers us to serve us John 13:1-17 – the setting for the washing of the disciples’  feet is the Passover Feast. The passover feast commemorated the time in Israel’s history when God  rescued them from slavery. The Passover is about God saving His people and so what Jesus does when He washes the feet of His disciples points to a new saving work. When Jesus  washes the disciples feet He is teaching them that the full extent of His love is revealed in the Cross - see 13:1. The washing of feet is a symbolic act which points to His death. To be a Christian involves allowing Jesus to serve us by accepting His death and allowing God to work in our lives. In fact the encounter with Peter teaches us that unless Jesus serves us through the Cross we are not part of His family and are also unable to truly serve others. Foot washing was the task of the lowest servant and so Jesus by washing the disciple’s feet is teaching them that He is willing to take on the lowliest task for their sake and because of His love for them. Jesus’ love is not motivated by what He can get out of the disciples. His own source of love is the basis for His love not what they can do for Him. In this passage we also see Peter misunderstanding what Jesus is doing but right at the end of the Gospel Jesus restored Peter after His failures and begins to change Him. God both expects and enables transformation of our lives through the power of the Cross and the work of the Spirit in our lives. In this short passage we see another individual who is highlighted. Judas is identified as the one who would betray Jesus and who has allowed the devil to enter him. Judas is a shocking example because he was one of the disciples and lived closely with Jesus seeing His example day after day for 3 years. Yet he falls away because he doesn’t have faith. Judas is a warning to us that we can be close to the Christian faith without actually ever accepting the Lord Jesus. We must ensure that we have come to know the Lord and submitted to Him. Jesus final command is that we are blessed if we obey Him. Obedience brings blessing and is the key to transformation through faith in God’s power. God’s Blessing Rev David O’Mara 

Continue Reading..

03
Apr
0

An affectionate reverence !

Comments · Permalink

Fear God and Obey His commands
Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 the writer now brings his teaching to a conclusion. He says that the whole duty of people is to fear God and obey His commands. Charles Bridge says that the fear of the Lord is that affectionate reverence by which the child of God bends himself humbly and carefully to his Father’s law. When the power of the Gospel is at work in our lives God through the preaching of the cross and the work of His Spirit captures our heart so that a fear of the Lord grows in our life and this leads to a desire to obey the commands of the Lord. The teacher expects that his teaching is more than information. It is transformative. Our primary sense organ is the ear. We are to focus on listening to the Lord. In the New Testament our Lord Jesus reveals Himself as the Word of God
John 1:1 and so He is a speaking and teaching God. We also learn that the Word of God is powerful Hebrews 4:12 and can penetrate our lives and reveal truths about ourselves and about God. The Word of God also corrects and rebukes 2 Tim 3:16-17 and can equip us to know the Lord and do His work. The teacher has studied life under the sun and he says that all this knowledge is meant to bring us 4 things. God blesses us with pleasure. In 12:10 the teacher describes God words as words of delight and truth. God’s pleasure can’t be separated from His truth. This is a reminder that people will often try to find pleasure apart from the Lord and this will not bring satisfaction. The key to this is that we delight in things which are beautiful and good and true. In Psalm 27:4 the Psalmist wants to dwell in the temple of the Lord so that he may gaze on the beauty of the Lord. Seeing the beauty God in the face of Jesus Christ brings us the greatest joy and delight. Secondly God bring us an unexpected gift which is pain. He uses the picture of a shepherd with a goad embedded with nails. Shepherds used these staffs with nails to keep sheep on the right path. God will allow pain into our life that we may not turn away from Him. This is a very hard lesson but we must not forget that God himself fully understands how pain can be used to bring joy and salvation - Jesus death on the Cross for our sin. His third observation is that God gives us a perspective that the totality of life is to fear God and obey Him. Finally the teacher instructs us to prepare to meet God for we are all accountable and good will bring his good and right just so that evil is dealt with and wrongs are righted. God’s Blessing Rev David O’Mara  

Continue Reading..

31
Mar
0

Remember your creator now before it is too late

Comments · Permalink

Remember your creator now before it is too late Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8 in this famous passage the writer uses graphic pictures to illustrate the effects of the ageing process. He speaks about windows (eyes) growing dim & when the keepers of the house tremble (arms) and the grinders (teeth) are few and the almond tree (grey hair) blossoms. By youth he doesn’t mean just someone in their 20’s but refers to any person before they get to the stage of rapid decline. What is most urgent ? The first thing which is most urgent is to enjoy life 11:7-10 and to remember our Creator 12:1,6. The command to remember is more than thinking about God. Rather it is an incentive to rejoice because God is the Creator and the giver of joy and life. As we get older it is all too easy to slip into a grumpy disposition. We must guard against a cynical attitude that causes us to forget God’s goodness to us. We are praying that people will come to All Souls and come to faith. What will they find when they get here ? Joy or gloom ? God has given us everything we need to be full of joy and so we are called to choose joy. There is also a danger that if we don’t choose to rejoice and enjoy God’s good gifts now, then as we approach old age when life becomes more difficult our resources for coping will be drawn from what we have stored up and if that is grumpiness or cynicism or a lack of graciousness then we will become increasingly more difficult people to be around. Of course there is always God’s grace and mercies which are new every morning and it is never too later to ask for God to change us and to repent of grumpiness. Last Sunday 24 March we held our AGM. Ministry reports were discussed and audited financial statements were presented. The results of the election were : Malcolm Rich & Tracey Rowe were elected as wardens and those elected to Church Council were : Guy Evans, Eugene Baidjurak, Sue Steinmetz. I appointed Suzannah Gaulke as my Rector’s Warden and Doug Kelaher as my Church Council representative. A short meeting was held after the AGM and the wardens appointed Nigel Bailey as Treasurer to replace our outgoing treasurer Rob Ryan and Shion Inomata was appointed as our Safe Ministry Representative. Our Church Nominators elected were : Eugene Baidjurak, Claire Graham, Sue James, Katie Stringer and Ian Cathers. God’s Blessing Rev David O’Mara 

Continue Reading..

24
Mar
0

Stepping out in faith produces growth

Comments · Permalink

Stepping out in faith produces growth the writer is seeking to instil humility into our character by helping us to know that life is uncertain and we can’t know the future but God does. In v1-2 we may receive a return for our investment or disaster could strike. However this inability to predict the future is not an excuse to retreat and play it safe. Rather we are encouraged to ship our grain across the sea and invest in 7 yes 8 ventures. God wants His people to engage in life and use the gifts they have to witness to His goodness and love. The writer continues to instil humility by reminding us that our knowledge of life is very limited. In v5 we do not know the path of the wind nor how God puts His Spirit into a baby in their mother’s womb. There are so many things in life which are beyond our understanding and control. We are encouraged to focus on what we can do which is to sow our seeds in the morning and not be lazy v6. As we move to the New Testament we are reminded to lay up treasure in heaven. This is not a scheme to encourage us to buy our way in heaven. Rather when we invest in spiritual things which have eternal significance it is showing that our heart has been captivated by Jesus love. That is what the power of Jesus’ death does. He captures our hearts with His love and then this changes our focus so that His priorities and values become ours. In the New Testament Jesus told a number of parables about sowing seed and many of these have links to Ecclesiastes. For example in Luke 12:15-21 Jesus told a parable about building up treasure in heaven. A rich man yielded an abundant harvest and said to himself what shall I do. This was his major mistake because he forgot that this harvest was a gift from God in the first place. He makes a decision to take life easy, eat drink and be merry. This sounds very much like Ecclesiastes which has encouraged us to enjoy God’s gifts but this man has forgotten God and so God’s values and priorities are far from his mind and his heart. Ecclesiastes 9:1-6 is encouraging us to step out in faith and use our gifts and abilities and resources to build relationships of love and sow God’s seed or Word of life. May the Lord enable this to increase. God’s Blessing Rev David O’Mara 

Continue Reading..

17
Mar
0

Looking for the real thing

Comments · Permalink

Looking for the real thing In chapters 1-9 the writer has been teaching us through his careful investigation of life under the sun that pursuing pleasure and education and power and wealth as ends in themselves will not bring satisfaction which we all long for. He has reminded us that we all must face death and that this is the great leveller of all people. Effectively the writer has been demolishing the false idols which people trust in for significance and joy and once he has shown their hollowness he seeks to move us onto his purpose of building a sure foundation to trust in - God Himself. In Chapter 9 the writer brings his argument to a conclusion and reminds us that all people face a common destiny of death but this is not a reason for despair. In 9:7-10 he teaches us that we are to embrace life and enjoy the good gifts which God provides for us such as food and wine and clothes. Within this section he is using wedding imagery. This is very interesting because the picture of God being a husband to his people is very strong - see Isaiah 54:5, 62:5. This picture of the celebration of God with His people reaches its climax in Revelation 19:7 where God invites His people who have accepted salvation as those who are invited to the wedding supper of the lamb - our Lord Jesus who takes away sin through His death on the cross. It is a rich picture of celebration. Despite the uncertainty of this life and at times its seeming unfairness we are being directed to look for certainty and sure hope beyond this world. God’s Blessing Rev David O’Mara 

Continue Reading..

10
Mar
0

Don't be scared of death

Comments · Permalink

Facing death & wisdom Ecclesiastes 7:1-25 It is sometimes amazing the wonderful things you hear about people at funerals. A good eulogy helps us to understand a person’s life. But death is still a taboo topic for many. We will talk about sex but not death. The writer says it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. He is teaching us that as we think about death and face death it teaches us things about life and our mortality which will help us learn to be wise in this world. In 7:1 we are taught that the day of death is better than the day of birth. When a baby is born there is great wonder and celebration about the huge potential for the child but it is when we die there is fulfilment. In the NT Paul teaches us that to die is gain - see Philippians 1:21,23. At death we are freed from the trials of this world and can enjoy the Lord’s presence. Facing death is not just about going to heaven because there are lessons to learn now as we face death and these lessons teach us about what is important in life and our priorities. Relationships are most vital. When we face death we are reminded again at how short life is and we don’t want to waste it. As we face death we are encouraged to pursue wisdom 7:19 but we also recognise that our wisdom is limited and true wisdom always leads to trust in God and His purposes - 7:13-14. We are to consider God and trust that He is good. God’s Blessing Rev David O’Mara 

Continue Reading..

03
Mar
0

Stop talking and listen carefully

Comments · Permalink

Stop talking and listen carefully In chapter 4 a foolish king is one who would not listen to advice or warnings and now the teacher gives the ordinary person some wise direction also. Just like the King the ordinary worshipper needs to listen to God. In the previous chapter (4) a depressing scene has been painted where there is oppression and envy and loneliness and failure of leadership. As one surveys this world and what it offers it would be easy to lose hope. But God gives us good advice that all is not lost because we can turn to God and seek Him. However with God we need to go to listen to Him. Obviously this involves using our ears but it is more than just hearing words. Our lives can be so frantic or anxious that there is not space to receive what the Lord has to say to us. In 5:3 the writer speaks about how with many cares come dreams and so we need to come before God and stand in awe of His greatness and see the lessons that this book has been teaching us. He is big and we are tiny. This is encouraging because the Lord is much bigger than our problems. That means He has the power to deal with them. In particular the teacher warns us against making hasty vows lest we can’t fulfil our vows. When we are so preoccupied with ourselves we can be full of ideas which distract us from what is most important which is to seek the Lord. Today the place where we listen to God is through His Word the Bible as we fellowship with His people. One day one of Jesus’ disciples, Mary Matthew 10 decided to leave kitchen duties to others so she could listen to Jesus. Jesus commended her for choosing what was best. There are always many things we could be doing but we need to choose what is best. Listening to Jesus through His Word and standing in awe of Him is our greatest need. It is Jesus’ Word which strengthens us and gives us peace and direction in life. God’s Word is the most important advice in life. God’s Blessing Rev David O’Mara 

Continue Reading..

Previous 1 .. 2 3 4 5 6 .. 17 Next

Recent Posts

Archive

Calendar

SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
234567
891011121314
15
161718192021
22232425262728
293031