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Dear Friends,

Our Federal election process to form the next government has been complicated, with much negotiation involved! Regarding government and more eternal matters, as Christians we can be guided in thought and prayer by the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:1–6:

1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men — the testimony given in its proper time. [NIV]

We need to pray that God will give us a government that allows us as Christian people to live stable, godly lives that please God.

We pray that our governments might know that they are under God’s authority, and are ultimately answerable to Him, not only to the people. For God is the one who imposes and deposes rulers and governments (e.g. Daniel 4:34–37; Romans 13:1). Hence we can request that they uphold virtues and make decisions that honour God, and are in the best interests of the people God has put under their care, not sacrificing righteousness to win popularity.

Peace, stability and order not only please God, but are favourable conditions by which the good news of Jesus might be proclaimed and spread throughout the land. In His loving initiative He sent His Son, Jesus to justly pay for the penalty of our sin, by his death on the cross. So Jesus is the one and true go-between, reconciling us to God. Assurance and hope is promised from trusting in Jesus as saviour, and not through anyone else.

On 17th October, the Roman Catholic Church will canonize Mary MacKillop, and in North Sydney especially there will be much excitement and interest. Nobody doubts that she was a remarkable lady having done many good things. However, we need to pray that people will not be confused or misled into prayers, trust or assurance, in anyone or anything other than God and the one mediator between God and humanity, Jesus Christ.

The saving knowledge of Jesus motivates us to share this with our local community and the great networks of friends and family, with which God has blessed us. So we are pleased to announce two outreach events for your prayers and partnership:

• Door-knocking outreach – Daytime Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th November.  Door-knocking our local area is a great way to connect with our community, do some fact-finding, have evangelistic conversations, hand out Luke’s Gospels and distribute St Thomas’ Christmas information.  Those from 6pm are especially keen, and those from 8am, 10am and 5pm are invited to join in as well. (But not to miss our usual church services!)

• St Thomas’ & St Mark’s Northbridge combined Moore College Mission – Sunday 27th March – Sunday 3rd April 2011.  For everyone in both churches, this will be a week of doorknocking, dialogue meetings, evangelistic events for men, women, youth, children, and Scripture seminars in partnership with a team of Moore College students. This week gives us a focus and concrete goals to aim for in terms of evangelism, and naturally the ongoing follow-up and relationship-building that evangelism depends on, will continue throughout the whole year. 

In Christ,
Jon Phua

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