Moore College

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

Emu Plains Mission 2021 Day 1

Emu Plains Mission 2021 Day 1

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A great first day on mission, with three services getting to know the members of Emu Plains Anglican Church and hearing from team members Scott and Dave about Jesus our Saviour in Mark’s gospel.

As the day continued, the rain kept pouring, and the worry of flooding got more and more serious. SES messages have been sent out to the community for evacuation in certain areas with members of the church feeling the worry of the rising waters.

As our team spends time here in Emu Plains, we see the need for the community to hear of the hope that Jesus brings particularly in a time of emergency like this. Our team will (hopefully) be continuing with our plans for doorknocking each day with umbrellas and rain jackets in hand. Please be praying for the people we will be meeting, for the questions they may have as they sit in fear of these floods and hear of this hope of a new creation.

Pray we will have fruitful conversations and also help all who need help. Give thanks to God that we can be here in this time of uncertainty to preach a message of certainty. With most of our team driving back and forth every day in these conditions, please pray for safety.
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Liverpool South Mission 2021 Day 1: The Simple Message of Jesus at Liverpool South

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What a wonderful first day of mission at Liverpool South Anglican! It was a joy to be welcomed by the church and to take part in their 9:30am family service. Our team members split between being involved in the service and assisting with kids ministry. One student, Michael Figueira, gave an encouraging sermon from 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5 on the foolishness and power of the Cross.

Sunday school was great fun and we were given a fantastic and timely reminder of Jesus’ commission in Matthew 28:16-20 as Matt Bales, the assistant minister, taught the children. Matt went on to lead the older kids through a simple Bible reading framework to Look Back, Look Up, and Look Forward, sharing with us his vision for them to one day lead their own Bible discussions at Sunday School and with their friends at school.

In the afternoon, a small group had the privilege of visiting the church’s Pakistani congregation, who have been meeting in homes for church services since last year. It was certainly a different experience to what most of our team is used to! We were warmly welcomed by Pastor Imran and the congregation, and many parts of the service were translated from Urdu into English for our benefit. Did you know that ‘Jalal’ means glory in Urdu?

The music was a real highlight, particularly when we could sing a Pakistani song based on Psalm 18. Pastor Imran translated the chorus for us: “I love you my Lord, my strength, my God is my rock”. One of our students, Stuart Sharry, gave a wonderful testimony focused on the simple truth that we can know God, and receive his forgiveness, through the Lord Jesus. This was complemented well by a sermon on John 1:1-18 from another student, Jaison Jacob, who taught us that the only way to truly see God is through Jesus.

We praise God for the hospitality of the Pakistani congregation and the meal we were able to share in after the service. It was a time of mutual encouragement as we heard about people’s trust in Jesus through many life circumstances, and as we likewise were able to share about our faith. What a joy to see God’s Spirit working through different people, in different languages, to the praise of his glory!
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A Super First 36 Hours of Mission at St Stephen’s, Normanhurst

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We’ve had a fantastic first 36 hours of Moore Mission at St Stephen’s Anglican Normanhurst.

Highlights include:

  • A quality homemade lunch (including “made from scratch” dumplings!! 😋) and dinner provided by St Stephen’s.
  • A warm and enthusiastic welcome by Baden Stace (Senior Minister), Peter Hughes (Assistant Minister), Chris Jones (Families and Youth Minister) and Karl Bonner (Young Adults Minister).
  • Excellent connections made with church members from all the congregations.
  • Clear gospel proclaiming testimonies by Ash Braithwaite and Jeremy Fox.
  • Good Christ centred sermons preached by Russell Denten (4:30 pm Saturday and 7 pm Sunday), Michael Hemans (8 am Sunday) and Sam Davidson (10 am and 5 pm Sunday).

Prayer requests for tomorrow:

  • Please pray for church communities on the Mid North Coast and Western Sydney regions currently devastated by floods. Especially for the Salt Community Church in Bonny Hills, NSW. St Stephens had to delay a planned Men’s group event with a “Hope Beyond Cure” talk by author David McDonald, the senior minister of Salt. Please pray that God would give the ministry team wisdom and perseverance, and a spirit of generosity to the church congregations as they seek to support those who have lost homes.
  • Pray that everyone at St Stephen’s would be excited to be on mission with us this week.
  • Prayer that God would clear up the weather ASAP so we can do door knocking or other evangelistic things in the local area.
  • We’ll be joining a few church small groups tomorrow; please pray that God would give courage to those who will be sharing their testimonies or other gospel presentations. And that the groups would find our contributions encouraging.
  • We’ll be starting an outreach & flood relief collection Anglicare table at the Hornsby Westfield. Please pray that we would be ready for every gospel opportunity God provides and that the community would be generous in donations.

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Maitland Moore College Mission 2021 Day 1

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It’s been a wet and wild start, but there’s been a whole lot of fun and encouragement as well. We loved being involved in the three services at Maitland Evangelical Church, as the message of Jesus was proclaimed to all ages.

Some of us used our free time to explore the outlying town of Morpeth and had a good look at the overflowing Paterson River.

The young adults are a super fun bunch at MEC. Just make sure you keep your phone close by otherwise they’ll grab it and take a few photos (see above). But that’s all part of the fun!
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Church @ the Peak 2021 Day 1

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“And should I not have concern for the great city of Ninevah, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left…?” (Jonah 4:11)

Church @ the Peak was concluding their series on Jonah this week and they had given the task of wrapping up this book in God’s Word to Rusdyan, who used this chapter to spur on the congregation and his fellow chaplaincy group to compassion for the lost; born out of God’s grace on us. Alongside that, the congregation was able to hear from Andy about how God’s grace impacted him through a mug (ask him how). It was a beautiful and exciting first morning doing church with our brothers and sisters at Peakhurst. We had wonderful gospel-centred conversations and half of us were able to teach the young members about Jesus.

Thank God for the rich faith that is growing in this community and for the faith that was evident amongst even the youngest members of this family. Please pray that the seeds God sowed into their hearts through Andy’s testimony and Rusdyan’s faithful preaching would grow to bear fruit beneficial to God’s Kingdom.

Afterwards, we were invited to a church social so that the church family could welcome us even more. The plan was to do barefoot bowls but the rain meant that instead we all played trivia and ate dinner together. Our chaplaincy group found it wonderfully easy to chat with them and they showed a keen interest in getting to know us and get alongside us on this mission week.

Thank God for the warm welcome we all felt by a community that is abounding in love and desires to share the inheritance of the Gospel with the lost in Peakhurst. Pray that these conversations we were able to have would glorify God and help us in the week ahead to partner in the Gospel as we do mission together.

To keep in your prayers:

  • The weather is seriously affecting a lot of our plans over the next couple of days and we want to make the most out of the opportunity that God has given us to tend the soil here at Peakhurst.
  • For the growth groups (bible studies) we’ll be visiting over the next three days that we would be able to encourage and be encouraged by our sisters and brothers as we share our stories of how God has worked in our lives.

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Armidale Mission 2021 Day 1

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Pre-Mission Travel

The Armidale mission began with precarious journeying from Sydney via car, bus and train, through the deluge on the Central Coast, and up through the central tablelands before finally arriving at the St Peter’s Cathedral. We were warmly welcomed by the staff here – including the recent grad Rev. Johnny Costin – before arriving at our friendly billets.

Morning at church

On Sunday morning half of the team attended services at St Peter’s Cathedral, and the other half at St Mary’s church in West Armidale.

Dr Phill and Matt G challenged congregants at St Peters’ to realise their affinity with sinners in Jesus’ parables, and their need for Jesus’ forgiveness. Matt H and our chaplain Alison shared their stories of accepting Jesus’ forgiveness. Adam also shared the gospel in a Kids’ Spot.

On the other side of Armidale, Ned preached on the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, while Ben gave his testimony. Ned and Ben then joined with Kim and Jared for an engaging Q&A session with the parishioners.

“Good Music, Good News”

St Peter’s Cathedral hosted an international music outreach event on Sunday afternoon.

A range of parishioners, both young and old, performed good music from around the world.

Reuben performed a country song, spoke about sin and his initial experiences of mercy, before singing “His Mercy Is More”. Phill again spoke about the Lost Son – the good news for the whole world. Andrew connected with a Chinese man and a Chinese-Malaysian woman.

Please be praying that the seeds planted in the hearts of these two internationals will bear fruit.

Evening at church

In the evening, Jared shared his story of grace with the congregants at St Mary’s church. Matt H proclaimed Jesus’ invitation to the Heavenly Banquet, and Phill shared how he had taken up that invitation.

Meals with parishioners

For both lunch and dinner, the team had meals with parishioners. One highlight was Adam’s time with a senior gentleman from St Mary’s, who hosted Adam in his home for dinner. Please thank God for the mutual encouragement between Adam and the widower. Adam will revisit the gentleman for a game of chess sometime during the week. Please pray that this further contact will continue to be encouraging and comforting for them both.

Please thank God for the faithful proclamation of His Word in both preaching and conversation. Please ask God to water and grow these seeds.
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