Newsletter 2018/10/21

Newsletter for Church in Sydney   Oct. 21, 2018

 

 

Messages: Acts 21

²² And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. ²⁴ But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:22-24)

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

¹ And when we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. ² And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed ⁶ and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

⁷ When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. ⁸ On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. ¹⁰ While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'” ¹² When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵ After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. ¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. ¹⁹ After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, ²¹ and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. ²² What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; ²⁴ take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. ²⁵ But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.” ²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

²⁷ When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” ²⁹ For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. ³¹ And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ³² He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. ³⁵ And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, ³⁶ for the mob of the people followed, crying out, “Away with him!” (Acts 21:1-36)

¹⁶ But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, ¹⁷ delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you ¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:16-18)

Message Next Week: Acts 22

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. We would like to invite more brothers and sisters to attend the prayer meeting to fight the spiritual fight together. We will also watch a video in the first 15 minutes to equip ourselves to serve in the church.
3. There is a planned gospel meeting of hymns on December 9. If anyone has any suggestions, please fellowship with Brother Yulin Wang.
4. A Chinese speaking training camp on gospel preaching camp is planned for December 25 and 26. If any brothers or sisters are able to attend and be perfected, please register with Brother Yulin after the meeting.
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: 22/10 Mon. 7:00pm, Richard & Flora (w/dinner)

@ Kingsgrove: 23/10 Tue. 10:30am, Shanwon Chow

@ Chatswood: 25/10 Thu. 8:00pm, Ming Pan

@ North Region: 27/10 Sat. 7:30pm, Patrick & Lily’s

Pursuing of Uni Students:

23/10 Tue. 7:00pm, Yulin’s (w/ dinner)

Sisters Meeting: 24/10 Wed. 10:00am, Megan’s

Prayer Meeting: 24/10 Wed. 7:45pm, Meeting Hall

Highschooler Meeting: 26/10 Fri, 7:30pm, Yulin’s

Pursuing for Ministering:  26/10, 8:00pm, David’s

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 new believers (7 brothers: Stephen, William, Yuan Liu, Yuan-Pei Zhao, Chao Ma, Lyon Yang and Jack Zhou 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.
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. Please pray for Brother Michael Lin and Sister Hui Wang especially.
4. May the Lord bless those year 12 students (Holly, Crystal and Zylen etc.), give them wisdom and guide their future steps. Their HSC exams have begun.

Serving This Week: (Oct. 21)

1. Message: Yulin Wang (Downstairs)

Benjamin Lim (Upstairs)

2. Breaking Bread: Yulin Wang & Patrick Li
3. Serving Bread & Cup: Chuan Ma, Benchu Guo & Patrick Li
4. Food: Group 4
5. Cleaning: Group 3
6. Children: Hannah, Christine & Fiona

Serving Next Week: (Oct. 28)

1. Message: Patrick Li & Yulin Wang (Downstairs)

Raymond Young (Upstairs)

2. Breaking Bread: David Tan & Chuan Ma
3. Serving Bread & Cup: Richard Cui, Sean Dong, Peter Zhang
4. Food: Group 1
5. Cleaning: Group 4
6. Children: David/Joe, Sarah & Tina Jiang

 

 

 

 

Please check the activities,

messages, and other news

on the church web site

christiansinsydney.org

QR Code for the

church web site