Newsletter 2018/12/02

Newsletter for Church in Sydney   Dec. 2, 2018

 

 

Messages: Acts 26

Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa

¹ So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: ² “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, ³ especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴ “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. ⁵ They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. ⁶ And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, ⁷ to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! ⁸ Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

⁹ “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

¹² “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³ At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. ¹⁴ And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 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.’

¹⁹ “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. ²¹ For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²² To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: ²³ that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴ And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” ²⁵ But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. ²⁶ For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” ²⁸ And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” ²⁹ And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”

³⁰ Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. ³¹ And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” ³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Message Next Week: Gospel Meeting

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. Concerning the food service, we will continue to serve in 4 groups. However, for every combined meeting (for example, the gospel meeting next week) we will go back to serve dishes by families or individuals.

In either way, we sincerely hope that our serving is not out of necessity, but done willingly. Let’s serve with mutual support and in a spirit of joy and love. When we prepare the dishes, please do it in a simple way. Our focus is the fellowship around the table and the love of the brothers and sisters, not the dishes themselves.

3. For the gospel meeting of hymns on December 9, we would like to encourage all brothers and sisters to invite gospel friends to join our meeting. Today we will have rehearsal in the afternoon. May all who are going to perform next week stay and practice.

Next week at 9am we will serve breakfast. All the brothers and sisters as well as gospel friends can come earlier to enjoy and to prepare the meeting.

For the love feast at noon, may all families/brothers and sisters bring a dish to share. Group 3 please assign few brothers or sisters to serve in the kitchen.

Today after lunch the ushering group please stay to fellowship the serving in the gospel meeting and in every Lord’s day meeting.

4. If any gospel friend is willing to be baptized or desires to know the meaning of salvation and baptism, please contact Brother Yulin Wang.
5. Today after 3pm there is a fellowship of children service and BBQ at Flora’s home. Al the teachers of the children service, please attend.
6. On December 22 we are planning a one day trip outing. We will rent the bus for sightseeing and welcome all to participate. For details and registration please contact Sister Lamee.
7. There is a conference on Feb. 11-15 2019 in Shanghai. If you can join, please contact Brother Yulin.
8. The 2019 Gospel Calendars have arrived. You can purchase each copy for $6. It is for every brother and sister to use at home or as a gift to the gospel friends.

Church Meetings/Time/Place

Home Meetings

Chinese Speaking Young People: 3/12 Mon. 7:00pm, Richard & Flora (w/dinner)

@ Chatswood: 6/12 Thu. 8:00pm, Ming Pan

@ North Region: 8/12 Sat. 7:30pm, Patrick & Lily’s

Pursuing of Uni Students:

4/12 Tue. 7:00pm, Yulin’s (w/ dinner)

Sisters Meeting: 5/12 Wed. 10:00am, Megan’s

Prayer Meeting: 5/12 Wed. 7:45pm, Meeting Hall

Highschooler Meeting: 7/12 Fri, 7:30pm, Yulin’s

Pursuing for Ministering: 7/12, 8:00pm, Cancelled

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 gospel meeting of hymns on December 9. May the Lord exhibit His power of the gospel and make people know and accept His salvation.
3. May the Lord bless brothers Thomas Wu, Vincent Tai and sister Sarah Wang who will join the Vision Week and pursuing in Cleveland Ohio US on December. May the Lord bless them to gain more of His riches, and become the blessings in our church life.
4. Pray for the new believers (5 brothers: Yuan Liu, Yuan-Pei Zhao, Chao Ma, Lyon Yang and Jack Zhou as well as 13 sisters: 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.
5. 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 Ah Seng Chow

Serving This Week: (Dec. 2)

1. Message: Yulin Wang (Downstairs)

David Tan (Upstairs)

2. Breaking Bread: Richard Chen & Chuan Ma
3. Serving Bread & Cup: Richard Cui, Chuan Ma, Kevin Zhu, Joe Zhou
4. Food: Group 2
5. Cleaning: Group 3
6. Children: David/Joe, Sarah & Tina Jiang

Serving Next Week: (Dec. 9)

1. Message: Gospel Meeting
2. Breaking Bread: N/A
3. Serving Bread & Cup: N/A
4. Food: Bringing dishes by everyone, Group 3 to serve in the kitchen
5. Cleaning: Group 4
6. Children: Tina Zhang/Michael, Esther, Mandy & Tracy

 

 

 

 

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