affections in april
Thank you as always for your gospel partnership! Apologies that this comes late, I’m still recovering from being sick and it seems I caught another cold. Regardless, the last month has been a productive one with lots happening, so as usual I’ve placed some highlights here and some reflections and prayer points below. As usual, please let me know how you are going, I’d love to be praying for you!
Hello from our family on a ferry!
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
A third of the year has already passed, but whether it’s a season of sickness and recuperation, or busy-ness and fruitfulness, I’ve continued to be challenged to hear from God’s word and continue to shape my life around it. I taught from this passage at SRE as we considered how the Bible shapes our lives. King Josiah, upon reading God’s law, repented and reformed the kingdom of Judah, turning them away from foreign gods to worship the one true God at Jerusalem. My prayer is that we would all continue to see our need for Jesus when we look at God’s word, that he would turn us away from the world and to worship our Lord Jesus.
easter at the park
We had our easter Sunday service at the park, and our church is at a point now where it all happens smoothly and excellently! We even did it without our senior minister, and I had the privilege of being first in charge on the Sunday. I’m thankful to God for how he’s been at work in our church, that Sundays like this can run smoothly even without the senior minister because of how God equips his people and convicts each of them on our teams with how they are serving the gospel no matter how small or big the task. Pray for the many people who we met and made contact with over easter, that no matter how small of a seed that was planted that God would use that to change hearts and turn people to him.
another busy and sunny Easter Sunday
day zero at ryde
Our church hasn’t officially started meeting as one with Ryde Presbyterian church yet, but in April we had the opportunity to come and worship together on a Sunday. There’s been lots of prayer and planning in the lead up to this, and it all went pretty smoothly! I oversaw the welcoming team on the Sunday and we were able to welcome many faces that were new to us, as well as completely new people visiting the church (even people who were intending to visit Ryde Presbyterian!). It was a good learning experience for all of our teams, and we’re taking back all that we’ve learnt for our very first Sunday together in June!
Our welcoming team now gets to soak up some vitamin D
cherishing life from Deuteronomy
I preached for the second time this year in Deuteronomy, from chapters 19-22, and it was a big passage that grew my appreciation for Deuteronomy even more. The exegesis made me really think about the function of God’s law for Israel, and how it reveals to us our need for God even more so. Based around the sixth commandment, my big idea was to Cherish the life that God brings through Christ’s death. Given it was a long passage, I felt that I spent a disproportionate amount of time in doing the exegesis, but I should have spent more time in preparing the sermon in fleshing out that exegesis well to feel the depth of the passage and its application, and committing the sermon to my memory so I didn’t have to read off the notes so much and pace myself better. This process was a good reminder of how there’s still a lot for me to learn and grow in. You can listen to the sermon here.
I need to reevaluate what parts of the passage I show and highlight on the screen
taking leave
I took leave in the last week of April for my brother in law’s wedding. Praise God for his marriage which was a God glorifying day. Thanks for praying for our extended not-yet-Christian family who visited from Shanghai, having them stay with us was a great gospel opportunity to share our lives with them and show them God’s love. I took them to see some typical touristy things as their tour guide like seeing the opera house, Sydney Harbour bridge, fish markets, and going out for food around our area. The week of the wedding we were able to organise a Chinese translation of the sermon which was preached from 1 John 4. Praise God for how he worked in this opportunity, our extended family were able to follow along with the sermon, and they were able to articulate what the big idea of the sermon. The way the church family around my brother in law also served at their wedding was also a testament to that very same truth—that we know love and love one another in the love that God has shown us in Christ. Bec’s cousin asked Bec for her testimony, and had questions about Jesus and the Bible also!
Here we are with the happy wedding couple!
reflections
- - I need to keep being able to assess my capacity and know when I’m stretched. I had a moment on my leave where I realised I was still tired despite being on leave, and throughout this last month and a bit I’ve still been sick. I’ve been reminded of how I’m just a sinner who needs God, and things in life don’t start and end with me—all things in my life, including ministry, need to continue to be entrusted to God and not my own energy.
- - Preaching is hard. I’ve continued to see how I have a lot to learn when it comes to preaching the Bible and how it humbles me. This opportunity also continues to grow in me a greater appreciation for good, faithful teaching from the Bible.
- - The gospel of reconciliation brings people together like no other thing. I’ve worked in many different jobs, volunteered in many different contexts, and I’ve met so many different people who have been driven by so many different things. But when it comes to church, and the amalgamation of two different churches and a great number of volunteers, it’s been an encouraging time because I’ve seen how everyone has been driven and thriving under the vision of seeing more people in our local area to hear the gospel and call Jesus their Lord.
prayer points
- - Keep praying for opportunities with our extended family, they went home having heard the gospel and with a copy of who will be king (kid’s 2W2L). We are planning to visit them in Shanghai as well as some of my parent’s extended family in Hong Kong and Guangzhou toward the end of the year. Pray that God
- - Keep praying for wisdom for college and further ministry plans for the future for our family, still not decided on what will next year look like and we would appreciate prayer for intentional time and God’s wisdom in how we can steward best what God has given us for his kingdom.
- - I’m currently typing this at reach Australia, pray for our time here as a staff team and for me to continue to be further equipped and empowered to do fruitful gospel work!
- - Pray for the youth at Ryde. In term 2 the youth are going through parables of Jesus, and so far it has been varied with differing levels of engagement and exegesis with the youth. Pray that God would be revealing himself to them, that they would know better what the kingdom of God means and how to read the Bible better. Also be praying for our preparation as we head into Term 3, we’ve decided to be teaching them Biblical Theology and we’re wrestling with what it looks like to teach them in a way that changes the way the read and live out God’s word, not just take in some theology. Pray especially for J, who has become regular at youth. He’s more introverted and prefers to sit by himself, but praise God he’s engaged in reading and responding to the Bible. Pray that he would be engaged in a way that encourages the other youth.
- - Pray for A and A who joined us for the first time at Easter, they’re both immigrants who have lived in Australia for a while, but recently moved in to Ryde. They visited our church after finding the local catholic mass was too busy—they seem to be somewhat familiar with church and Christianity, but pray that God would be growing them in their maturity and that our church would be walking alongside them and loving them as brothers and sisters.
🙏 Thank you again for your partnership in the gospel! Shoot through a message when you've prayed (even if it's just a "hey!") and let me know how I can be praying for you also!
Emme's first time at the beach!