Newsletter 2018/1/14

Lord’s Day Message: Matt. 20

¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

⁸ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

¹⁷ And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸ “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. ²¹ And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” ²² Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” ²³ He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, ²⁸ even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

²⁹ And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” ³¹ The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” ³² And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³³ They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” ³⁴ And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

Questions for Discussion

1. How does the parable in verses 1-15 explain “the last will be first, and the first last”? What kind of characteristics do the verses 14-15 exhibit in terms of God’s salvation or reward?
2. After Jesus revealed His death and resurrection for the third time, the disciples still fought for the seats by Jesus. How did Jesus help them? Please also share how verses 26-28 can become our experience.

Message Next Week: Mat. 21

Bible Reading Schedule: Mat.21, Num. 14-18

Church Meetings/Time/Place

Home Meetings

Chinese Speaking Young People: 15/1 Mon. 7:00pm, Richard Cui’s  (w/ dinner)

@ Kingsgrove: 16/1 Tue. 10:30am, cancelled

@ Chatswood:  18/1 Thu. 8:00pm, cancelled

Pursuing of Uni Students:

16/1 Tue. 7:00pm, cancelled

Sisters Meeting: 17/1 Wed. 10:00am, Hannah Dong’s

Prayer Meeting: 17/1 Wed. 7:45pm,

Lydia’s (Chatswood),

David Tan’s (Warrawee)

Pursuing of Words: 19/1 Fri. 8:00 pm, David Tan’s

Saturday Meeting：20/1 Sat. 7:30pm,

Home Meeting: cancelled

High school: cancelled

Gospel Group: cancelled

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. There is a baptism lesson after the Lord’s Day meeting. If any gospel friend is willing to be baptized, please fellowship with Brother Yulin Wang.
3. The young people will have a summer camp organsied by the uni students on January 21st to the 23rd of 2018. The camp will be held at Wisemans Ferry on the topic of “What is the Bible?” Please contact Sister Elsa or Angela for details.

Because of the camp preparation, the Saturday night meeting for high school students will be cancelled for the next few weeks.

4. There will be a gospel meeting on Feb. 18 for the Chinese New Year. It will mainly a gospel message with some hymns and testimonies. If any brother or sister has suggestions, please fellowship with Brother Yulin Wang.

<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 (7 brothers: Vincent Tai, YuMing Liang, Zylen Liang, Frank Wang, Stephen, William and Yuan Liu as well as 10 sisters: Vanessa Lu, Li Zhou, XiaChun Li, YuRong Liu, Lili Chen, Jenny Zhu, Yun-Yue Lin, Li-Qin Wu, Yun Zhu, and Joies. May the Lord establish them in the church life and bless their growth in life.
3. 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: (Jan. 14)

1. Message: Yulin Wang
2. Breaking the Bread: David Tan & Patrick Li
3. Serving Bread and Cup: Patrick Li, Olsen Yu, Jason Wang & Peter Zhang
4. Cleaning: Jason & Susan Family, Andy & Anne Family, Zhang Tian & Li Hui, Benchu Guo Family, Yulin Family
5. Kitchen: Julie & Baoling
6. Children: Supervisor – Lily

Singing – Esther & Holly

Teachers – Christine & Mandy

Serving Next Week: (Jan. 21)

1. Message: Yulin Wang
2. Breaking the Bread: Richard Chen & Chuan Ma
3. Serving Bread and Cup: Chuan Ma, Ash Li, Jason Wang & Richard Cui
4. Cleaning: Jason & Susan Family, Andy & Anne Family, Zhang Tian & Li Hui, Benchu Guo Family, Yulin Family
5. Kitchen: Susan & Mandy
6. Children: Supervisor – Flora

Singing – Vasya & John

Teachers – Angela & Esther