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Christmas Party

It's Christmas season already - must be time to party!

As a community church we have some great facilities to put on a great 'street party', so we're throwing open the doors on Sunday 2 December to do exactly that.

We're hoping it will be a good time for us all to meet new people in our neighbourhood, and just hang out together. We do have a few things planned too...

How does singing some Christmas carols, letting the young ones romp on bouncy castles, tackle the PlayStation on a giant screen, getting some faces painted and finishing up with sausages on the BBQ sound like as a morning at church?

If you're in for that, then we're keen to enjoy this festive season with you as neighbours, here at 10.30am, 2 December.

To forgive

Over the past few weeks, I have been talking about values. So far, diversity, love and acceptance. This week, we’re looking at forgiveness.

I offer just four thoughts on this subject: Firstly, it’s costly. To forgive is to let someone off the hook, and deny your right to justice. As an example, someone steals $100 from you. They are caught, but the money is gone. You forgive them, releasing them from justice, thereby costing you $100.

Secondly, do it for your friendships. Proverbs 17:9 says “He who covers over an offence promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” Want to have good friends? Don’t remind people of all the ways you believe they have failed you. 

Thirdly, do it to take the peace on offer. Carrying offences around with you is a burden you cannot sustain without doing damage to yourself in mind, body and soul. Wounds of the most serious and profound nature don’t just scar, they can even define us. Forgiveness, though not easy, is necessary to shed the dead-weight of offence and wounds that threaten to engulf your humanity. A lack of forgiveness is a dis-ease in your person. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, means complete wholeness of the person and this is a God-given state. A refusal to forgive and instead nurse your wounds forms a hard heart that cuts you off from God’s forgiveness, which is the path to the shalom of God.

Finally, given there is a cost (and it can feel substantial), forgive out of obedience to the Lord Jesus. We are commanded to forgive. We are told if we don’t do as he commands, then we are not true followers. It’s easy to say but hard to do and if you can’t see the benefits available today, then do it because you fear God, for Jesus has warned us (Matt 6:15) the Father will not forgive us if we do not forgive others.

We’re all sinners and have all done wrong. Forgiveness is the Christ-given path to reconciliation with God and one another.​

Acceptance a friend of ‘tax collectors and sinners’

​What's the value of Acceptance?

Acceptance ties together two other core Biblical values of diversity and love. To truly value diversity and truly practice love requires accepting people – not people as you might prefer them to be, but as we really are.

Our example in all things is Jesus. His acceptance of others was off the charts and for this he earned the reputation of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners, and being a glutton and a drunk. To put it another way, they believed he had rejected God by hanging out with the kinds of people that surely God could not like and therefore Jesus too must be an enemy of God.

We know Jesus was none of these things. He knew how to uphold the highest standard, yet make himself completely accessible to those living by the lowest standard. His love expressed in acceptance of the person beyond the behaviour was so compelling he attracted those who perhaps felt they were furthest from God’s love (while strangely repelling those who thought they were closest).

I think we’re a church that generally does want to accept people. We do make room for people from all walks of life and with all sorts of backgrounds, and help them feel welcomed into the loving community of Christ. I’m not expressing something that is foreign to us. Perhaps the challenge though is, ‘How far should we go to accept people?’ Well, how far did Jesus go? Try this on: think of someone known for committing the most heinous crimes, of doing the most wickedly depraved acts. Now consider exchanging places with them – giving them the right standing you have found in Christ, and taking their place in condemnation. We don’t actually have that ability, but this is the acceptance of Christ. He went as far as actually accepting all our sins as his own so we could have a way made open to the Father.

We need to keep this value before us, for it’s a major challenge in a world that delights in shocking us with its depravity. We will need all of God’s love to see beyond this to the person for whom Jesus died and calls us now to extend this ministry of reconciliation, not counting their sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).

And the greatest thing is

Surely we would uphold what scripture says is the greatest thing...namely, love. To obey Christ and do his works, love is essential. Pastor and author Jerry Cook offers this definition of love: “Brother, sister, I want you to know I’m committed to you. You’ll never knowingly suffer at my hands. I’ll never say or do anything, knowingly, to hurt you. I’ll always in every circumstance seek to help you and support you. If you’re down and I can lift you up, I’ll do that. Anything I have that you need, I’ll share with you; and if need be I’ll give it to you. No matter what I find out about you and no matter what happens in the future, either good or bad, my commitment to you will never change. And there’s nothing you can do about it. You don’t have to respond. I love you, and that’s what it means.”

What I appreciate about this statement is that having love is not the goal – it is expressing love that matters. We all uphold the idea of love, but in the end God will weigh our deeds of love (Jeremiah 17:9, 10). Also, if you’ve read it carefully, then I imagine like me you see the frightening implications of such a statement. I’m deeply attracted to the idea of receiving this love...but scared by the implications of giving it.

The good news – this love is the fruit of God’s Spirit working in our lives (see Galatians 5:22): it is not our work to produce this love for its source is God. BUT we do need to make a stand in faith and say; “I accept this is the love commitment of every believer, and therefore one I need to make in obedience to Christ, so I will trust God to empower me to produce deeds of love.”

Yes, I’m scared by the commitment, but greater is my excitement growing in this so I’m standing in faith to make this love commitment to you. Are you keen to do the same?​

Pass the Salt: Camp Special

​Saturday afternoon activities

Wondering what we have planned for Saturday afternoon activities? Well, here are the ideas we are putting forward.

We need you to now register your interest in one of these activities. Some come at a cost, and others are free or very inexpensive. There is always the option of simply finding a quiet place to sit down with good friends and chat over a hot drink, but whatever you do, please consider doing it with your church family.

Go-Karting “Daytona 100 Teams Event”: Each Driver completes 30 Laps of Racing. Restricted to those aged 14+, looking for 14-40 drivers, and will provide up to three hours of hard-core fun, all for the cheap price of...$35.00 per driver

Booking required! Sign up by this Sunday (24 June).

Megazone: Two teams compete with ‘laser’ guns to rule the maze. Computerised printouts give the vital statistics on personal and team performance for corporate and individual bragging rights, accuracy, how often you were ‘hit’ and much more. It’s ultimate pain-free battle.

Two games for...$18 Adults, $12 Children/Seniors

Booking required! Sign up by 1 July

Table Tennis: @Chapel Hill... free but feel free to bring some balls and a bat to hit them with.

No booking required.

Make your own jewellery with Fine Silver Design Studio: Our very own Suskia Van Der Merwe runs a business from her home studio designing and making fine silver jewellery...and she teaches others too! She has generously offered her time to run a beginners taster workshop for a lucky five people. $38.50 per person (covers materials only). Limited to five people only, so book now as first-in-first-served.

Somewhat tight gourmet: Love food and cooking, but struggle to find the money and the inspiration for the tasty ‘gourmet’ treats that make dinner time a joy? Holly Potter and Rebecca Renner will run a workshop from the humble confines of Chapel Hill’s kitchen to show you what you can do with a limited budget, using everyday tools, but delivering real value on the table. Gold coin donation.

Sign up to show interest.

Note that all these activities are excluded from the general camp registration. You will be required to pay in person, on the day, at the activity of your choosing. If you do not pay, you do not play.

Sign up for camp!

On the subject of payment, we have two registration fees – one for those attending the dinner (max $30) and one excluding the dinner (max $10). Please register as soon as for booking purposes. Registration forms are available at the office, and on Sundays. A snag in the figures means registration fees may not cover all camp costs, however, instead of increasing the fees, we are asking for kind individuals or families to perhaps add some extra to their registration to help pay for incidentals such as tea, coffee, milk, prizes etc. Please tag all targeted donations and registration fees as ‘Camp’ to separate from usual tithes.

Sign up for the Talent Show

Phill and Mandy Grey are still on the prowl for people and groups entering in the talent show running on Saturday night. Contact them to get your name down.

Dessert Off

Friday night is the world-famous-in-Chapel-Hill Dessert Off where men prepare their favourite pudding for public scrutiny. It’s a great opportunity for a dessert, with all the competitive elements a man needs to feel manly while also cooking/baking.

Categories and prizes will be announced in the near future, but start looking for recipes now...there will also be a category for the young men among us!

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