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St George’s St Stephen’s St Stephen’s Holy Trinity Sunday, 12 July 2020
PARKES PEAK HILL BINDOGUNDRA REEDY CREEK 6th Sunday after Pentecost
Anglican Parish of Parkes – parkesanglican.org
Connect - Grow - Serve and Go! Our Vision is to be a growing faith community of lives transformed by Christ.
Our Mission is to be followers of Christ, who, with God’s help, encourage Spirit-filled people to share and teach God’s word.
How can we live a confident life? (Romans 8.1-11)
This week in our Roman’s passage we have a message of assur-ance to give us confidence. Verse 1 declares ‘there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’. Paul is giving us a declaration of all God has done for us. He is assuring us that, if we are in Christ, we will not be declared guilty when we stand before God in judgement. You will notice that Paul doesn’t mention anything about us being good enough to earn our salvation. He doesn’t encourage us to do anything to work out our salvation. He tells us that we are assured of it because we are in Christ. In declaring this so emphatically Paul is encour-aging us to live with this confidence. He wants us to put aside a life that is filled with doubt and to know ourselves as people who will not face condemnation.
One way you can think of this assurance is to imagine the differ-ence between someone at an airport with a ticket which has a confirmed seat on the flight and someone who only has a standby ticket. The person with a confirmed seat can relax and wait for the plane - maybe read a paper, have a coffee – know-ing that their seat is guaranteed. The person with the standby ticket has to wait anxiously until the last minute – hang around the counter, keep checking, hoping someone doesn’t show up - to see if they make it onto the plane. If you are in Christ, you have a confirmed ticket. You are not on standby waiting to see if get in.
Paul also assures us that Christians are people who live by the power of the Spirit not the flesh. Again, this is an assurance. Paul
July Birthdays Elizabeth Wythes (2nd) Maddison Day (3rd) Lynne Cabban (8th)
Allan Osborne (11th) Cameron Pfaff (13th) Joseph Tanswell (15th)
Peter Woodlands (19th)
Cliff Cowell, Alexander Pfaff, Paige Duncan (23rd)
Rob Irving, Carole Corbett, Roger Gregson (30th
What’s On This Week
At St Georges
Sunday 12 July 9:00am Communion Service
On-line Services
Anytime Weekly Online Service
You can watch this service anytime by following the link on our
Website @ parkesanglican.org or from our Facebook page.
Sunday 12 July 7.30am Weekly Online Service
For those who want to join with others online we will broadcast
the Weekly Online Service through our online church platform
at parkesanglican.online.church.
Zoom Meetings
Saturday 11 July 4.00pm Prayer Meeting
is describing our actual state, not something we have to aim for or work towards. When we give ourselves to Je-sus, Jesus’ Spirit lives in us and we no longer have to be controlled by the flesh. We shouldn’t see ourselves as trying to win a war between two opposing parts of our own nature – our flesh and our spirit. Paul is talking here about two opposing external powers which try to control us. As Christians, Paul encourages us to know ourselves as people who are ruled by the Spirit of Christ. Sin will attack us, we will face temptation. Sometimes sin might even take a foothold. However, Paul assures us that when we are in Jesus, we can let the Spirit have control of our hearts and we can rely upon Him to resist these attacks and battle sin. Our part is to know this and live with this confidence. The Theologian Michael Bird tells us that ‘to resist the flesh requires discipline on what we think, do, say, run from, and run to ... In the same way that you don’t allow a doctor to operate on you if he has a degree from the “University of Kelloggs” hanging on his wall . . . don’t give into the flesh.’
This passage in Romans encourages us to live confidently with the assurance that Christ has won the victory and overcome condemnation. And to live confidently with the knowledge that the Spirit of Christ who won this vic-tory lives in us now, guiding and protecting us. Natalie
Readings This Week Lectionary Genesis 25.19-34 Psalm 119.105-112 Romans 8.1-11 Matthew 13.1-23
Giving
Figures for June 2020 Total collections $6,672.00 June target. $10,720.00 Shortfall. -$4,048.00
Parish Directory
Rector — vacant
Locum Rev Natalie Quince 0411 763 448
Hon Assistant Deacon Rev Liesel Walters 0414 735 554
Office Parish Office: 6862 1868 PO Box 86, Parkes E: [email protected] W: parkesanglican.org
Currently closed
Georgie’s Anglicare Ph: 6862 2954 M: 0438 143 527 Food Pantry: 10am-3pm Thursday Farmers’ Pantry: 12:30pm - 2pm Friday Boutique: 10:00-4:00pm Mon-Fri Wardens (Parkes) John Unger 0429 196 705 Bruce Hall 0428 866 676 Cheryl Thompson 0409 621 900 (Peak Hill) Judith Stanford 6869 1691 Dianne Hutchins 0416 035 804 Ron Farley 0437 691 457 E:[email protected]
Readings Next Week Genesis 28.10-19a Psalm 139.1-11, 23-24 Romans 8.12-25 Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43 Electronic Offering Central West Credit Union BSB: 032 656 Account: 104159 ANFIN Phone: 07 3835 2355 Client Number: 6185
Sentence of the day
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8.1
Collect of the day
Bountiful God, we thank you for planting in us the seed of your word: by your
Holy Spirit, help us to receive it with joy, and to live according to it, that we may
grow in faith and hope and love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and
reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever. Amen
Snippets for St Stephens 12 July 2020 Praying for Our Community
We continue to ask the Lord to help and guide us as we try to accept the rules
and guidelines that are imposed on our church community and make it difficult
to meet as normal. Unfortunately, we are still unable to manage the severity
and circumstances which have been set regarding worship and cleaning so we
ask that everyone keeps praying for improvement and that changes may occur
soon. Praise to the Lord for the continuing health of our community where
fresh air and rain has been experienced in abundance and every week the
memory of the past drought grows dimmer. We continue to pray and thank the
Lord for the relaxed restrictions in NSW which have commenced over July. How-
ever we pray for the people of Victoria and the severity with which the lock-
down is impacting on their lives. We must start thinking about how we may be
able to continue fellowship activities and gathering to cope with the re-
strictions. It is important that we keep in touch with all our church family and,
although the restrictions to worship seem onererous and foreign, the Lord is
waiting for us to decide to gather in spite of the new rules. Please consider this
prayerfully as you seek guidance from the Lord.
Local Prayer List
Please also continue to pray for Graeme, Lauren, Rev.Liesel, Ron, Rob, Fr. Ron,
Graeme, Paco and any others who are sick. Please also pray for Julie and Bev
and their families as the mourn the sudden death of Shirley McCarron this
week. May she rest in peace.
Message from Judith and Di
5 -10 people may gather in someone’s house (with social distancing to apply) to
have a Morning Prayer or Communion so please contact either of us if you
would like to try this option while we wait for return to normal church. We
hope that restrictions may change soon to enable us to manage the process of
cleaning and go back to the church. Please pray for this to be possible.
Dianne 0416 035 804 Email: [email protected]
Judith 0404 637 295 Email: [email protected]
Monthly Giving
We are extremely grateful to all those parishioners who have made donations,
direct debits, cash or cheques as part of your monthly giving. May God Bless all
of you. Note the account details below:
Westpac BSB: 032656 A/C: 104159
