Newsletter 2018/9/09

Newsletter for Church in Sydney   Sep. 9, 2018

 

 

Messages: Acts 16

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

¹ Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. ² He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. ⁵ So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

The Macedonian Call

⁶ And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. ⁷ And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ⁸ So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The Conversion of Lydia

¹¹ So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, ¹² and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. ¹³ And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. ¹⁴ One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. ¹⁵ And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶ As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

¹⁹ But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. ²⁰ And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. ²¹ They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” ²² The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. ²³ And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. ²⁴ Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶ and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹ And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴ Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

³⁵ But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” ³⁶ And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” ³⁸ The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. ³⁹ So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Message Next Week: Acts 17

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. The groups in downstairs meeting will be adjusted. The young people will have their own group and everyone else will be in groups according to the food service groups. However, group 1 and 2 will be in one group, group 2 and 3 will meet in their own group. Hope we all can serve and pursue together with mutual encouragement.
3. From the 29/9 to 1/10 we will invite Brother Michael Samulak to come and supply us at the Spring Conference. Please separate that period of time so that we can pursue together before the Lord.
4. There is a Chinese speaking church conference in Shanghai from Oct. 2 (Tue.) night to 6 (Sat.) noon. If you are interested in attending, please contact brother Yulin Wang.
5. We look forward to seeing a group of English speaking saints join Brother Thomas Wu at the winter Vision Week in Cleveland Ohio US. If you are willing to participate, please contact and fellowship with Brother Thomas or Yulin.

Church Meetings/Time/Place

Home Meetings

Chinese Speaking Young People: 10/9 Mon. 7:00pm, Richard Cui (w/dinner)

@ Kingsgrove: 11/9 Tue. 10:30am, Shanwon Chow

@ Chatswood: 13/9 Thu. 8:00pm, Ming Pan

@ North Region: 15/9 Sat. 7:30pm, Bill & Christine

@ Warrawee: 15/9 Sat. 7:30, Olsen & Likun

Pursuing of Uni Students:

11/9 Tue. 7:00pm, Yulin (w/ dinner)

Sisters Meeting: 12/9 Wed. 10:00am, Megan’s

Prayer Meeting: 12/9 Wed. 7:45pm, Meeting Hall

Highschooler Meeting: 14/9 Fri, 7:30pm, Yulin’s

Pursuing for Ministering:  14/9, 8:00pm, Ben Lim’s

Bible Pursuing: 15/9 Sat. 10:00am, Meeting Hall

Intercession:

1. May the Lord bless our gospel friends so that they can know how precious the Lord is and become willing to believe in Him.
2. Pray for the upcoming Spring Conference that the Lord can bless our gatherings with His rich supply in the Word.
3. Pray for the new believers (6 brothers: Stephen, William, Yuan Liu, Yuan-Pei Zhao, Chao Ma and Lyon Yang as well as 16 sisters: Li-Qin Wu, Yun Zhu, Joies, Ariel Chen, Lu Gan, Lan-Xiu Zhang, Li-Fang Ge, Kelie Wei, Li-Yuan Xu, Jean Hu, MinFang Wu, XiuQing Chen, Heidi Li, Tracy Lin, Sophie, AnJie Lin. May the Lord establish them in the church life and bless their growth in life.
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.
5. May the Lord bless those year 12 students (Holly, Crystal and Zylen etc.), give them wisdom and guide their future steps.

Serving This Week: (Sep. 9)

1. Message: Yulin Wang (Downstairs)

Benjamin Lin (Upstairs)

2. Breaking Bread: Yulin Wang & Chuan Ma
3. Serving Bread & Cup: Ming Pan, Richard Cui, Sam Li & Patrick Li
4. Cleaning: Food Service Group 1 & 2 (excluding CS young people group)
5. Children: Hannah, Christine, Fiona

Serving Next Week: (Sep 16)

1. Message: Thomas Wu & Yulin Wang (Downstairs)

Raymond Young (Upstairs)

2. Breaking Bread: Richard Chen & Olsen Yu
3. Serving Bread & Cup: Patrick Li, Olsen Yu, Benchu Guo & Peter Zhang
4. Cleaning: English speaking group
5. Children: David, Joe, Sarah & Tina

 

Church Activities in 2018

Sep. 29-Oct.1: Spring Conference

Dec.: Gospel Meeting with hymns (9)

Conference in US (English Speaking)

 

 

 

 

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