Newsletter 2017/10/15

Lord’s Day Message: Matthew 8-9

8: ¹ When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. ² And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ³ And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

⁵ When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ⁶ “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” ⁷ And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. … ¹³ And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

¹⁴ And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. ¹⁶ That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

9: ¹⁰ And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹² But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

²⁰ And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, ²¹ for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” ²² Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

²⁷ And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” ²⁸ When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” ²⁹ Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”

³⁵ And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸ therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Questions for Discussion

1. In Matthew 8-9 there are many cases of the sick persons being healed by the Lord. Please choose one case and observe the conversations between the sick one and the Lord. How can these conversations help you to know the Lord Jesus more?
2. How does the parable of the sick persons and the doctor in Matthew 9:12-13 talk about the will of God and the salvation of the Lord? What kind of attitude we should have to receive the Lord’s salvation?

Message Next Week: Mat.10-11

Bible Reading Schedule: Mat.10-11; Exo.19-21

Church Meetings/Time/Place

Meeting of Chinese Speaking Young People:

16/10 Mon. 7:30pm, Richard Cui’s  (7:00 dinner)

Pursuing of Uni Students:

17/10 Tue. 7:30pm, Yulin’s  (7:00 dinner)

Sisters Meeting: 18/10 Wed. 10:00am, Hannah’s

Prayer Meeting: 18/10 Wed. 7:45pm,

Lydia’s (Chatswood), Olsen & Likun (Warrawee)

Pursuing of Words: 20/10 Fri. 8:00 pm, Yulin’s

Saturday Home Meeting：21/10 Sat. 7:30pm,

Young People & Parents: Yulin & Jessica’s

Gospel Group: Olsen & Likun’s

Announcements:

1. We welcome all the new ones who are joining us today. May God bless you and lead you into this family of God.
2. If any gospel friend is willing to be baptized on 5/11, please fellowship with brother Yulin Wang.
3. On December 3 we plan to have a hymn singing gospel meeting. Brothers and sisters, please begin to prepare. If any brothers or sisters is willing to become a coordinator for this activity, please fellowship with brother Yulin Wang.
4. For the visit to North America and attending the church conference in Cleveland in December, please fellowship with Brother Raymond Young if you are interested to join.

<Reminder>

1. For the brothers and sisters, please come on time and bring your own Bible and hymn book for the Lord’s Day meeting.
2. During the meeting, please turn off your mobile phone or put the volume on silence and not to walk around or to wonder/talk too loud in the kitchen.
3. Please keep the play field and rooms tidy and put all equipments in place after use.
4. When you prepare the love feast for Lord’s Day lunch, please do not prepare any food containing nuts as someone may have food allergy.

Please refrain from bringing uncooked food for the love feast so we may lighten the work for the serving ones in the kitchen.

Intercession:

1. May the Lord bless the gospel friends among us that they can know how precious the Lord is and are willing to believe in Him.
2. Pray for the new believers (4 brothers: Vincent Tai, YuMing Liang, Zylen Liang and Frank Wang, and 7 sisters: Vanessa Lu, Li Zhou, XiaChun Li, YuRong Liu, Lili Chen, Jenny Zhu and Yun-Yue Lin). May the Lord establish them in the church life and bless their growth in life.
3. Pray for those year 12 young people who are studying for the HSC. Their exams begin tomorrow. May the Lord give them wisdom and abundant grace.
4. Pray for the brothers and sisters or their relatives who are weak in body or spirit. May the Lord care for them and give them sufficient grace.

Serving This Week: (Oct. 15)

1. Message: Richard Chen & Yulin Wang
2. Breaking the Bread: Richard Chen & Patrick Li
3. Serving Bread and Cup: Patrick Li, Chuan Ma, Jason Wang & Benchu Guo
4. Cleaning: Steven Wang, Cindy, Joy, Lily, Lian, Michael Qui Family, Richard & Lamee Family, Chuan Ma & Maggie Family
5. Kitchen: Didy & WeiQiong
6. Children: Supervisor – Hannah & Lily

Singing – Chris & David

Teachers – Betty & Berry

Serving Next Week: (Oct. 22)

1. Message: Patrick Li & Yulin Wang
2. Breaking the Bread: David Tan & Chuan Ma
3. Serving Bread and Cup: Richard Cui, Sean Dong, Patrick Li & Chuan Ma
4. Cleaning: Jason & Susan Family, Andy & Anne Family, Tina Zhang & Ash Li, Benchu Guo Family, Yulin & Jessica Family
5. Kitchen: Lydia & Hannah
6. Children: Supervisor – Christine & Tina

Singing – Christine & Angela

Teachers – Angela & Esther