Dear friends,
There’s lots going on in our church and there’s lots going on in our country, so I thought I’d mention a few of them:
Scripture in Schools
Imagine if your workplace scheduled time for people to stop for a Bible lesson each week. Imagine you were given the opportunity to teach the class. Imagine you knew that 25 of your colleagues would join you each and every week as you opened the Bible with them. Some of them are believers, some of them definitely aren’t believers and some of them are curious. Wouldn’t that be an amazing opportunity to share the good news and grow disciples of Jesus? It’s exactly what we have with Scripture in schools. I often ask people how they became Christians and the number of times they mention Scripture is staggering. Scripture is a wonderful gospel opportunity. We need more teachers for next year – might you be able to help the next generation of students know Jesus? Contact me ([email protected]) or reception (8908 4800) for more information.
Summercamp | 20-24 January, 2018
‘A taste of heaven on earth’, ‘The best week of my year’, ‘The most loving community I’ve experienced’ – These are some of the descriptions our youth use when talking about Summercamp. It is an amazing week of fellowship, fun and deep learning in God’s word. This year Simon Manchester will be teaching the youth from the gospel of John. If your child hasn’t gone to Summercamp before, this would be a great year to start. It’s also a great way for the youth to start the year together and form friendships that will support them through it. For more information and to register, visit st-thomas.org.au/sc18
Responding to Same-Sex Marriage
‘What do you think of same-sex marriage?’ If you haven’t been asked it yet, I’m sure you will be. Perhaps a way to answer could be something like, ‘While I accept that Australia is a democracy and that the people have had their say on this, I follow Jesus and so will continue to hold to His definiton of marriage. If you were to get ten Australians around a coffee table, I’m one of the four that thinks the classical definition of marriage is best for human flourishing. Would you be interested in checking out Jesus’ view on marriage?’ (You could take them to Matthew 19:4-6).
Here are some more resources to equip you for other questions you might have:
- Should I go to a same-sex wedding ceremony?
gotquestions.org/gay-wedding.html - Some helpful thoughts in response to the same-sex marriage survey: murraycampbell.net/2017/11/15/australia-chooses-to-change-marriage-and-perhaps-much-more/
- How might freedoms be affected? See
freedomforfaith.org.au/library/same-sex-marriage-will-soon-become-law
(and the rest of the freedomforfaith.org.au website). Also see lawandreligionaustralia.blog. - What about people who call themselves Christian who are fine with homosexual relationships?
aomin.org/aoblog/2012/05/23/gay-christianity-refuted/
In Christ,
Gerard