Christ is Risen!

In the early church, Christians greeted each other by responding “He is risen indeed” if the other said the statement “Christ is risen!” Of course, it’s a statement of great joy and assurance that we celebrate because Christ’s resurrection was a statement of the defeat of death, and the fulfilment of those promises made that Christ would rise back to life, not merely in the form of a ghost or spirit, but as a full man.

This morning was a great celebration of the resurrection as we sang praises to our Lord, Richard dressed as a chef and showed (with some help and comical correction, plus his apron falling off) that the ingredients of Easter are not chocolate and bunnies, but the death and resurrection of Christ. Jim spoke from Luke 24 and showed how Jesus proved himself to be completely alive, by appearing to his disciples and offering his wounds as proof that he was well and truly alive. It’s a message that will fill you with a renewed appreciation of the truth that we profess.
With the possible exception of Rich’s chef costume, this will all be repeated at 6:30pm. Come and celebrate the resurrection and when the person you’re talking to says “Christ is Risen”, you can say with great confidence and joy “He is risen indeed!” I shall be testing people out tonight.

John Dickson article in the Sydney Morning Herald

If you were unable to get old of a copy of the SMH to read the article that Jim mentioned in both services, click here and you will be able to read it. Very worthwhile way to spend a few minutes contemplating that which we are remembering this weekend.

16 March ’08

Hopefully I’ll be able to get these up the day after services as opposed to the middle of the week after. The basic intent of these isn’t a review of the services, but to simply indicate what went on, especially if something a bit unusual and different happened.

Last Sunday was such a day, with a special “feast” put on during each service. Tables with food were laid out in the centre of the meeting space and people sat 3 deep on either side. About 15 minutes was set aside before the sermon to eat what was on the table, and to enjoy some fellowship in a different atmosphere. Naturally, the services went a little bit longer than usual (Communion was also shared), but it was well worth the effort, I believe. I wrote on my feedback card that it might be something worth considering for future services – maybe just as an annual thing, but to bring that aspect of the early church into our modern services.

Jim and Mark spoke from Matthew 22 – both sermons have been uploaded to the podcast site and I encourage you to download both, since they give unique perspectives on the passage and the context of it, but still very relevant to the text. Unfortunately there are no images of Mark’s authentic UAE costume that I could post. Download here or if you do your podcast subscribing via iTunes, click here to subscribe.

With the Easter week approaching, services will happen on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Be sure to make an effort to join in fellowship as we remember the death that Jesus died on our behalf, and celebrate his resurrection that brings us new life.

Coming up this Sunday…

One of the notable events this coming Sunday will be “The Feast”. Morning church will have a huge morning tea, whilst night church will have a huge dinner prior to the service at 6pm. This will coincide with the next in our “Dining With Jesus” sermon series, entitled “The All-Time Gala Banquet”, with Jim preaching in the morning and Mark in the evening.

It’s sure to be not a gastronomical delight, but also a chance to continue in fellowship and encouragement with our fellow congregations. So please remember to bring a plate of food or a drink to share, and be ready to not only feed on good tasty food, but to be challenged from Matthew 22.

Welcome to Toms’ blogging

Hi everyone!

Welcome to this online extension of the ministry of St Thomas’ Anglican Church, Cranebrook. If you’re part of the church community that meets at our convenient rain shelter, please use the comments to let us know you’ve found the site! If not, welcome and I hope that you enjoy your time reading through what I (and hopefully others as time goes by) contribute to this site.

Thanks for stopping by.