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Dear Friends,

(a) This is the last letter for 2010 since we don’t hand out bulletins at Christmas and next Sunday only has a 6pm service.
The Lord has protected and provided all year and we praise Him. Thank you to all who have prayed and served this year — our wardens, council, leaders, teachers, volunteers and staff have contributed in a thousand ways. Your service is not (completely) missed by us and it is not missed in the slightest by the Lord who loves and rewards.

(b) My last opportunity to thank those who give carefully and financially to the work of the Word here at St Thomas’. Last week I mentioned the desire of the Parish Council to put some proper Audio Visual equipment in the church for showing words, pictures, DVDs etc. Praise God that one man offered to help with a third of these costs. And if you are in a position to give a one-off gift of any kind to offset our offertory shortfall ($69,000) please do. All will help. Many appeals are out there, but our ‘pool’ is St Thomas’.

(c) In January we will have a farewell Sunday for Simon and Tamara Flinders on the 16th at 8/10am and for Peter and Carol Frith on the 23rd at 8/10am. Col and Sally Adamson will begin with us on 6th February.

(d) Here is a Christian issue you may never have thought about: only one world religion believes in a holy and perfect God.

The proof of this is that only (the Jews and) the Christians can see something had to be done in order for us to relate to Him. It is only the Christians who recognize that so perfect is God (and so imperfect are we) that He must provide an answer. And God’s answer is the coming down of His Son to pay our ransom.

Dr R.C. Sproul puts it like this: “Why would a world religion not consider atonement necessary for redemption unless, in their view, God is less than holy? If God is perfectly just and people are not perfectly just yet those people are trying to be in a vital relationship with God you have a basic overwhelming problem. How would a God who is holy and just accept in his presence unjust creatures? That’s what Judaism and Christianity understand as the vital problem … I don’t see how the other world religions could be compatible with the fact of human sinfulness and the fact of the holiness of God without a mediator, without a Saviour.” They must have a diminished view of God.

We could put it like this: Christmas is proof God is perfect.

May He perfectly save, bless and keep you.

Yours sincerely,
Simon Manchester

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