Pastor’s Message

Can you believe it’s almost March!! Imagine that! Because of that, today the front page is dedicated to asking for help.

We hope to take our youth to Easter camp again, and as usual, we require your help. We are running the adopt a camper campaign again. This is our request to please adopt a camper by paying all, or a part of, their fee for Easter camp. As you know, Easter camp is quite expensive. A cursory look at the website says that tickets are $278 at the moment, and the late fee will be $308. Early bird registration is already closed. This is in addition to our other expenses, like the marquee and all that comes with setting up and running Easter camp.

We are also in need of tents that do not leak. 

To this end, we will be having a bake sale on the 29th of March (please note the change of date from the 22nd). This is our chance to bake and then buy the baking back as we support our Easter camp efforts. 

Switching gears swiftly, we are also in need of volunteers for our various ministries. As I always say, we do not need people who CAN do the job; we need people who are WILLING to give it a try. We will give you the tools and training you need. Have a look below at the roles, and please pray for God to give you direction as to how to serve. This week, we will have a sign-up sheet in church, and you can get involved.

You do not have to do it every week, but we would love for you to sign up.

You do not have to do it every week, but we would love for you to sign up.

Have a week of prayer and discernment,

Mato

Church Sundays

On the pulpit this Sunday and beyond…

We are doing a study of Paul’s letters, starting with Galatians.

Last week, we looked at the 2nd part of Galatians 1. Here is a summary.

Paul writes this letter with disappointment and anger within him because of the fallacy of the teachers coming up to Galatia to teach a contrary gospel. So he writes this section to emphasise his position.

Paul has a story, and he embraces it. He does not run away from it. He was the best Pharisee. (Teacher of the law) He was thriving, but he was lost. God reveals himself and, at the centre of his story, Paul emphasises grace. The Law that Paul had relied on was not good enough to bring salvation. 

God then set him apart – "aphorizo", a Greek word used to show that the Pharisees were the separated ones. He had been an important Pharisee set apart by the law. Now he was “separated for God”.

At the heart of what Paul was telling the Galatians is the tension between truth and authority. These are the two messages vying for our attention.

Message 1 – Appeals for the flesh (cultural message)

Message 2 – Crucify the flesh (Message of the Cross)

At the heart of the cultural message is that truth does not matter. Opinion is everything. It is also a conflicting message. On one hand, you are not okay; buy this. On the other hand, you are very ok; you can be your own god. (Self-assertion, diet culture, live your truth, YOLO). 

At the heart of the crucified message, i.e., The gospel stands on its own. You do not need to justify it. It is this simple: I am a sinner, and Christ died for me so that I do not have to die. He calls me to give up my life for eternal life.

Here are some conversation questions from the message.

• Why does Paul stress that he received his gospel through a direct revelation from Jesus, rather than from human instructors (v. 12)?

• How does Paul’s transformation from a persecutor to an apostle (v. 13-14, 23) demonstrate the power of God’s grace?

• How can you share your own testimony of how Christ transformed you to defend the truth of the gospel? 

• How does understanding that salvation is entirely based on Christ’s work change your motivation for living a holy life?

• Paul was not a "people-pleaser". What is one area where you need to stand firm in biblical truth despite potential opposition?

Community

We are contending for the next generation, not just running a kids' ministry. Contending means that we do not just sit and let the world raise our children, but we are intentional and directional in what we teach and how we raise them as a church family. Our calling is to work alongside the parents to help the children grow in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and with man. 

Kirstie, Kathy and Nikki and others have graciously taken up the role of leading this team. We now need to pray for someone in a paid position to step up and co-ordinate this ministry. We still need all the volunteers we can get, and we are thankful for all who volunteer every week to lead us, but we are now looking for a children’s ministry co-ordinator. Please pray with us as we search. We also need to do this quickly so that we continue setting up our children's ministry for our families.

This Children’s Church Co-ordinator role is approximately 10 hours per week. You can see the full job description (or share it with someone who might be a good fit) on the CCCNZ website here.

Community

One final note…

As a pastor, my prayer for you is that you engage in God's word and prayer and that becomes the centre of your life now and in the future. I am urging you to read Galatians again and again. It's only 169 verses. Here is a formula to read it.

• Read it once through. Do it without thinking of chapters and verses.

• Listen to it, either through headphones or in your car as you work or as you go about your day.

• Read it with a pen and paper and see what comes up. Questions, clarifications, odd comments, and then bring those along, and we will answer them.

Community

This was our model for ministry…

In most of the church setups, we have the funnel model. We do big events that we hope will bring in people.

We hope to share the gospel with these people, and they will believe and then become part of the congregation and develop a sense of belonging and commit to growth and service. 

In many instances, this has worked well, and it has been an effective evangelism tool.

At HCC, we are slightly different because we want to create a sense of belonging, even before belief. Belonging is key because we are interested in who people are and how God views them, regardless of their belief.

We do challenge everyone to believe in Christ as their saviour and be committed to the life of Christ and the church. Then from there, we do community and evangelism together.

Giving

Halswell Community Church

Account Number: 06-0601-0867216-00

Reference: Tithe/Offering Particulars: Your Name