| Newsletter for Church in Sydney
June 17, 2018
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Message: Acts 7
Accusation of the Jews
6:13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”
The Speaking of Stephen
7:2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. …… 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. ……
30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’ 35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’–this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. …… 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
46 (David) who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, 49 “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 50 Did not my hand make all these things?’
51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”
The Stoning of Stephen
54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Questions for Group Discussion
- At the end of chapter 6, the Jews accused Stephen of speaking against the holy place and the law. In chapter 7, what are the verses showing that the appearing of God is not limited to the temple? Regarding the law, what are the verses which point out the importance of the law is to obey the word and the Holy Spirit?
- In our Christian living today, are we also like the Jews at that time, which is, there is a big gap between what men focused on and what God desires? How can we be watchful regarding this?
Message Next Week: Acts 8
Announcements:
- We welcome all the new ones who are joining us today. May God bless you and lead you into this family of God.
- Today is the third week that the love feast is served by a small group. May all the brothers and sisters still support and encourage the serving ones in love and remember the need in finance. (For the saints we suggest $5 for adults and $3 for children, but this is not compulsory.)
If you have suggestions or want to join the food service, please fellowship with brother Ming Pan and sister Lily Li. In the next Lord’s Day afternoon (24/6) all the brothers and sisters of food service please set apart your time for another fellowship.
- The cleaning service after the Lord’s Day lunch is also changed. The new service will be according to the discussion groups after the message. Therefore if you desire to change the group, please fellowship with brother Yulin Wang.
- The Gospel Odyssey will be from August 3 to 14 this year and there are 11 brothers and sisters coming from North America. May we all begin to prepare in the spirit so that we can preach the gospel and bear fruits.
If you can open your home for hospitality or are willing to participate the gospel work, please contact brother Thomas.
Church Meetings/Time/Place
Home Meetings
Chinese Speaking Young People: 18/6 Mon. 7:00pm, Richard Cui (w/dinner)
@ Chatswood: 21/6 Thu. 8:00pm, Ming Pan
@ North Region: 23/6 Sat. 7:30pm, Joe & Lili
Pursuing of Uni Students:
19/6 Tue. 7:00pm, Yulin (w/ dinner)
Sisters Meeting: 20/6 Wed. 10:00am, Pauline
Prayer Meeting: 20/6 Wed. 7:45pm,
Yvonne (Chatswood)
High Schooler Meeting: 22/6 Fri. 7:30pm, Yulin
Pursuing for Ministering: 22/6 Fri. 8:00pm, David Tan
Intercession:
- May the Lord bless our gospel friends that they can know how precious the Lord is and become willing to believe in Him.
- Pray for the new believers (4 brothers: Stephen, William, Yuan Liu and Yuan-Pei Zhao as well as 13 sisters: Lili Chen, Jenny Zhu, Yun-Yue Lin, Li-Qin Wu, Yun Zhu, Joies, Ariel Chen, Lu Gan, Lan-Xiu Zhang, Li-Fang Ge, Kelie Wei, Li-Yuan Xu and Jean Hu. May the Lord establish them in the church life and bless their growth in life.
- 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.
- May the Lord bless those year 12 students (Holly, Crystal and Zylen etc.), give them wisdom and guide their future steps.
Serving This Week: (June 17)
- Message: Stephen Hao & Yulin Wang (Downstairs)
Benjamin Lim (Upstairs)
- Breaking the Bread: David Tan & Olsen Yu
- Serving Bread and Cup: Ash Li, Richard Cui, 林蒙強，Patrick Li
- Cleaning: Chinese speaking young people
- Children: Supervisor – Tina
Singing & teaching – Chris & Jono
Serving Next Week: (June 24)
- Message: Yulin Wang (Downstairs)
Raymond Young (Upstairs)
- Breaking the Bread: Richard Chen & Chuan Ma
- Serving Bread and Cup: Sam Li, Olsen Yu, Ming Pan, Chuan Ma
- Cleaning: English Speaking Group
- Children: Supervisor – Jessie
Singing & teaching – Angela Fiona
Church Activities in 2018
July 23 – Aug. 3.: Training in US Cleveland (Chinese Speaking)
Aug.3-14: Gospel Odyssey (visiting of US young people)
English speaking gospel meeting (12/8)
Oct.: Spring Conference
Dec.: Gospel Meeting with hymns
Conference in US (English Speaking)
Please check the activities,
messages, and other news
on the church web site
christiansinsydney.org
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church web site
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