Moore College

Equipping men and women to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ

Naremburn – Cammeray Mission 2021 Day 2

Naremburn – Cammeray Mission 2021 Day 2

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The full-time ministry training session on Monday went really well. There were about 15-20 young adults and about 8 Moore college graduates who attended the session. Lachlan, the youth pastor at Nuremburn started the session with a reflection on the 1  Corinthians 15:3-8, where Paul says that the message of the gospel that he received he passed on to the Corinthians as of first importance. Lachlan challenged the young adults to consider what they will do now that they too have received this message.

The attendees were then asked to field any questions they had about considering vocational ministry. While they thought about those, we heard testimonies from Sarah and Gordon about their own journeys into vocational ministry. After that, six Moore college students made up a panel to respond to the questions raised. Being part of the panel, I really appreciated the questions raised because they were the same questions that I have been dealing with in my decision to join the vocational ministry. The panel responded to them well and provided varied responses depending on individual circumstances. We concluded the official time and stayed back to chat with the young adults about the answers provided. Many of them found the session quite helpful.

I had the privilege of talking to one of the boys who is currently serving in kids ministry but not sure if it’s the right decision for him to consider vocational ministry. He appreciated the responses to his questions and we chatted about them further. We then prayed together and called it a night.
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Armidale Mission 2021 Day 2

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Team Time

The team met this morning to debrief how God had worked on Sunday, be encouraged by the Parable of the Sower, and enjoy lunch together. The dean of the cathedral shared some his honest reflections on rural ministry life: doing life together with people through thick and thin.

School Bible Study

Jared, Adam, Merryn and Sarah joined with the chaplain at a local school to run a bible study with six students – which was double the normal turnout! Jared reflected how facilitating a discussion with teenagers he didn’t have a personal connection with was hard. The students were challenged to consider that you can only be loyal to the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness – that there is no neutral kingdom.

 

Please thank God for the six students that heard the gospel message.

Please pray that God will continue to sustain the chaplain, who has been a constant godly presence to the school community in the aftermath of recent grief.

Coffees with People

Michael met for coffee with a young man “N” this morning. “N” has had a variety of different life experiences: a traumatic accident, various career opportunities, and is currently completing a PTC course.

Please thank God that “N” was up for a chat and is engaging in theological study.

Please pray that “N” will continue to find comfort, confidence and assurance in Christ, and dedicate time to God’s Word.
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Maitland Day Off: Chocolate, Cheese and Wine

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Chocolate, cheese and wine. Our tastebuds were the real winners on our day off. You might think that Tuesday is a bit early to be taking a break, but we were certainly going to make the most of it. Thank God for good rest!

Wine production and tourism are two of the biggest industries in the Hunter Region, so we had to do our bit to get to know the local money makers a little bit better.

The Smelly Cheese Shop. It doesn’t sound great, but it was an absolute delight. And Petersons Wines, wow, what a great spot. Our attendant Jess went above and beyond to show us a good time. Almost all of us enjoyed the local drop, but Rhys Ewing, the guy just doesn’t like wine and he just cannot hide how he is really feeling.

The fun did not end there. We whacked more than a few golf balls into the overflowing lake at aqua golf at Hunter Valley Gardens. We can thank God for how he has gifted his people in different ways. Some are gifted athletically, others clearly are not.

But the ones gifted in remembering useless facts came to the fore at trivia at the Hunter River Hotel. The Moore College team put in a respectable effort to place third. What a good day!

Wednesday kicks off with door knocking. We’ll be inviting people to Easter at Maitland Evangelical Church and trying to get to know the locals better. Wednesday night is the Kindle event. All the church Bible study groups will be tuning into interviews, a talk and training to ignite a fire for evangelism in their hearts.

Please thank God for an enjoyable day off. Pray for us to love the people of Maitland and MEC. Pray for the people we will meet door-knocking, that God would open their hearts to the truth of the Gospel. Pray for the people of MEC to have Christ’s love, justice and sacrifice inspire how they speak and live every day.
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Prayer & Praise at St Stephen’s Normanhurst

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We have much to thank God for on mission thus far:

  • A lovely chat at Westfield with a lady who attends St Andrews Cathedral and loves to hand out scanned copies of handwritten bible verse postcards and share amazing stories of God’s faithfulness with everyone she meets.
  • Joining in bible studies with some of the older saints at St Stephens.
  • Lots of productive planning for upcoming SRE Easter Assemblies.

Here are some reflections from students and our chaplain:

Ash Braithwaite:

  • Was encouraging to have a few church members join us this arvo for evangelism and door-knocking training!
  • Please pray … for A and her daughter C, who will give lots of their cans to Anglicare tomorrow [24/03] after they move house. A was wearing a ‘Christian’ hoodie made by her Christian friend.
  • Also pray for V, a Hindu woman who may come to the women’s event with me (and maybe her daughter!) and perhaps church this Sunday too! We exchanged numbers at her request!
  • Praise God who chooses to include us in his mission!

Popo: Praise God that the SRE team got to meet up today [23/03] to plan for two 25 minute Easter assemblies at schools on Wednesday and Thursday. Pray that we would proclaim the Gospel faithfully and that kids would understand that Easter is about Jesus!

Bryn Weightman: Encouraging to hear how the Senior Men’s bible study members came to trust in Jesus as one of our team lead them in a study through 1 Tim 6:1-10.

Wendy Swanton: Normanhurst Anglican Church is looking after our mission team in so many ways.

Prayer requests:

  • Please pray that God would give us energy.
  • Please pray that the St Stephen’s community would be encouraged by our efforts to also be on mission this week.
  • Please pray that many would choose to come to the St Stephen’s Easter services.
  • Please pray that God would give us many good opportunities to chat at the flood relief collection stall at Westfield.
  • Please pray that many kids would hear and accept the good news of Jesus at the SRE Easter Assemblies.


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St Andrew’s Cathedral School Mission 2021 Day 1

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The rain was pouring down this anticipated Sunday morning. But the Kern-Hu team braved it for the sake of the Gospel. Thankfully it didn’t stop congregants from gathering in the wee hours of the morning as Tim preached at the eight thirty service. The rest of the team joined for ten thirty, and in the pews the team mingled with brothers and sisters from Canberra, and Queensland, and the United States, and Braydon planned to catch up with a new gentleman for a surf. Philip preached on Jesus’ arrest in the garden, and challenged us to respond to Jesus. We saw the choir boys promoted and listened in awe to them sing. Armani gave a talk for the youth, and Nic joined him to serve there. Steph and Nic helped out with kid’s church, when the leaders last minute couldn’t make it.

After church, we met in a school staffroom on level six, overlooking the cityscape, and the head of the school, Dr John Collier talked to us about the importance of school ministry, and the value of integrated learning. All kids are in schools, and so it is such an incredible opportunity to share the Gospel and care for them well.

For lunch, we ate with the staff team, and got to know a few key parts in St Andrew’s ministry team. The girls then met with Ruth, heard a bit about women’s ministry and the women that come to the Wednesday women’s bible study. We then thought over Acts 6 and planned a bible study for the women.

After lunch we learned of the history of the Cathedral, how architectural features reflected Biblical truths, and windows Biblical stories, and we discussed the benefits of a liturgical service.

The five o’clock service was a joy, and we heard James preach on Matthew 11, and the true rest from our sin, found in Him alone, and were greatly encouraged. Jake had a great chat with a new gentleman, who was questioning whether we can accumulate a burden of sin after we have been saved. We pray that he would know it is by grace through faith we are saved, and it is faith that keeps.

Please pray:

  • For those new persons at church the team have had conversations with, that they would know and love God more, and be enveloped well into the St Andrews Cathedral community.
  • For kids and youth ministry, that other families in the CBD may hear of St Andrews and join in fellowship.
  • For the members at St Andrews would be encouraged and spurred on in their faith.

Please thank and praise:

  • It has been such a blessing already to see how God has gifted each member of our team. Praise God for them, and how the body works together!

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Liverpool South Mission 2021 Day 2: Mondays and Mandeans at Liverpool South

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In the back pocket of Liverpool South lives a community of Mandaeans. If you Google them, you won’t find much, and nothing clear beyond them being pretty keen on John the Baptist. This morning our team sat down for a church event with a handful of parishioners to hear George’s story. George had been a Mandaean, and through a story of adoption, came to be adopted into Christ’s family too.

George shared his insider knowledge with us in detail; how they live under the constant threat of defilement, baptising in the hope that washing might cleanse them from sin. Pray we might take opportunities tomorrow and the rest of this week to gently and faithfully engage with the locals who hold these beliefs.

In the afternoon, some of us headed out to the local shops to complete some Cultural Observation exercises. Liverpool is fascinating as it doesn’t seem to have a predominant culture, in contrast to a lot of other Sydney suburbs. It’s a safe bet to say they love natural yoghurt though.

Our day began with pastor Matt Bales taking us through Luke 10 and Jesus’ sending of the seventy-two. We raised the question of when to persevere with people who don’t accept the message of Jesus. Praise God for the pastor who faithfully read the bible with George for four years before he came to trust Jesus. Pray for the parts of the world with hard soil, that God might keep a spirit of perseverance in those who are there, and that he might save even the most stubborn for Jesus’ glory.
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