Bulletin Announcements – 24 May 2015
- Baptism Service will be held today 12pm at Chapel. Please come along and support those who will be making a public declaration of their faith in Jesus. English: Sophie Chen, Joseph Cheng, Wendy Gao, Calvin Law, Vincent Leung, Veronica Tsang; Cantonese: Po Ling Cheng; Mandarin: Tian Ming Chen, Cherry Du, Li Yi Long, Zhe Hao Lu, Kevin Song, Li Fen Wang, Mei Xu, Ruo Xi Xu. Confirmation (English): Jackson Jap, Yenny Jap.
- Youth Camp: Our WSCCC Youth Camp is on 3-6 July 2015 (6pm Friday to 1pm Monday) on the theme of ‘Eternity’. Where: Blue Gum Lodge. Price: Early Bird – $160 (ends 31 May) Normal Rate (ends 14 June). See Andrew Lim at Stick, Pearlie Zhang at Glue. For more information see Dickson Wu or Andrew Bardsley.
- Youth Camp Hoodies: Our ‘Eternity’ Youth Camp hoodies are now ready for order and they are available for everyone at WSCCC! The price is $35 and orders close on 7 June. If you’re interested, please return a completed hoodie order form to Andrew Lim or Pearlie Zhang.
- Notice from the Diaconate: We rejoice that Pastor Chadd Hafer will be ordained as a minister of the Word and sacraments for West Sydney Chinese Christian Church. He has undergone interview by an ordination panel of ministers from several churches, and affirmed by the Diaconate. His ordination service will take place at 1:30pm on Sunday, June 21 at WSCCC Strathfield. Please join us in giving thanks and affirming Pastor Hafer in his ministry.
Ariel writes – a weekly Scriptural devotion:
Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.” (2 Peter 2:22 NIV)
Peter here uses two sayings, the first from Proverbs 26:11, the second an old Syrian proverb; both however make the same point – you can’t change the nature of the beast. False teachers are false precisely because it’s in their nature to be so. Also, by using these two proverbs Peter shows us that false teachers were never Christian to begin with. You see, God never calls his own people “dogs” or “sows”. You just won’t find this anywhere in the Bible. Non-believers are called dogs, sows, goats, donkeys, foxes and wolves but never believers. Why? It’s because these animals are unclean according to the law. God’s people on the other hand are called sheep, lambs and oxen. God never mixes his analogies! We need to remember there is a world of difference between a dirty sheep and a washed sow. One is in sin but saved, the other looks devout but is condemned. A dirty believer is worth washing but it’s never worth washing someone who’s nature and desire is to reject Jesus.
from Pastor Ariel