Bulletin Announcements – 17 April 2016

15 April 2016
  • School break is here. Sunday school will have holiday programs for today and 24 April. We encourage Year 5 and 6 children to join the service during these weeks. Term 2 Sunday school will start on 1 May. Play Group will start 26 April.

 

 

  • Come to Equip 2016 and turn your ordinary Saturday into an eXtraordinary one!  Equip is an annual Christian conference for women of all ages. Held on Saturday 28th May 2016 at Rosehill Gardens Event Centre, this year’s theme is “Freed” – as Christians we have been freed by Jesus, but what does Christian freedom look like? If you would like to come along, Ladies’ Fellowship is organising a group from WSCCC to attend this valuable conference together, so please see Jocelyn Lin or Alice Cheng for more details.  ‘Rego’ and full payment of $59 will be taken on Sunday 17th April.

 

 

  • Short Term Mission to Taiwan – Ever wondered what our missionaries do? Or pondered if you are called to be one? Here is your chance to experience it first hand and see what God is doing through our missionaries in Taiwan. GMC is sending a 8-person short term mission team to Taiwan in early December. The trip will be for 3 weeks, covering Puxin, Donggang & Taipei where our missionaries serve. You can learn more details at the Taiwan STM Information Afternoon on 24 April 2016, 3:30pm at WSCCC Strathfield Hall. If you are interested to join the team, please let a GMC or pastoral team member know. Expressions of interest will close on 15 May.

 

 

  • For the coming Combined Service on 29 May at Trinity Grammar School, we have planned to form a special choral and band/orchestral group from all congregations. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Ruth Choong of CP@10, Pastor Andrew Bardsley or Jonathan Chow of Strathfield 9, Ley Wan Tio of Strathfield Mandarin, and William Sit of the Cantonese congregation.

 

 

  • The Diaconate is calling an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at 12:30pm Sunday 8 May, 2016 at the Strathfield chapel for members to vote 2 motions: 

 

  1. To rescind the motion from the Annual General Meeting of 7th October, 2012 (AGM minute item 4), whereby the Croydon Park Mandarin congregation (CPM) was given branch church status of WSCCC. The Diaconate and the CPM Management Committee have agreed that CPM’s future should instead be to continue as part of WSCCC, and not to pursue forming a separate legal entity. The status CPM would then be one of the six congregations of the wider WSCCC.
  2. To amend the date of each Annual General Meeting of WSCCC to be held on the final Sunday of each September. This is instead of the current date, which is the first Sunday of October, always a long weekend.

If any members are unable to attend, then proxy voting forms will be available from deacons.

 

Ariel writes – a weekly Scriptural devotion:

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” (Romans 1:18 NIV)

We often don’t think rightly on God’s wrath. Firstly, we just assume on the cross Jesus satisfied God’s wrath. We even sing it in a modern hymn, yet nowhere is this said in the Bible. Secondly, because of this assumption we just think God’s wrath is done with. End of story. No need to talk about it anymore. However, this is not how God’s wrath is presented to us in God’s word. What we hear from Jesus’ own lips and from the New Testament writers is that God’s wrath is both a present reality and a future experience. God’s wrath is very much alive and well. Not dealt with or satisfied at all. It falls like lead on sinners right now, and will come down on them like a ton of bricks in the future. In the paragraph that follows the above verse we see God revealing his wrath presently on those who disobey him by giving them over to more sin. How frightening! However, what we also read loud and clear in the Bible is this; “Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9b). Jesus, our shelter, our bunker, our Saviour from God’s present and coming wrath! I feel a great sense of relief, don’t you?

from pastor Ariel